Bonded Summoner

Book 6. Chapter 17: Fhesiah - Final Showdown

Fhesiah and her allies were happy to have enough time to heal before a majority of their forces entered the final portal. When Fhesiah learned they would arrive inside the castle when they entered the portal, she had no idea what to expect, but it wasn’t more seals and chambers.

They had explored the inner sanctum before attempting to open any chambers, and it was like a giant U-shaped stone corridor with many branching rooms. Symbols lined a large gate to an inner courtyard, and their goal was clear: they needed to remove more seals for entry.

The corridor was massive, allowing their entire army to fight the spawned enemies on large stone platforms in the center of the path. She imagined that the enemy had their own inner sanctum, a separate U-shaped corridor which allowed them to remove seals.

As far as Fhesiah could tell, the inner sanctum was simply a place with better rewards. They had unsealed dozens of chambers which allowed a few members to be sucked into some form of inheritance, or to open a special core formation chamber. There were even a few treasure rooms, granting special materials to suitable individuals.

Fhesiah had obtained several that would help her with her dragon and kitsune bloodline in the second Tier, as well as some unique pills that would help her skyrocket in level once she returned home. Combined with the Framework reward for a tailored cultivation technique, she was confident that her path to Nascent Soul was already laid out for her.

From the looks of it, the major benefit by appearing in the inner sanctum early was they now had free rein over the best treasures. There was a countdown timer before the final stage, and if the enemy did not arrive before then, victory and the final prize, Perfected Core Ascension, would be theirs. She hoped that after the final battle, they could ransack the enemy’s inner sanctum too.

Because of Fhesiah’s merit and score, the final prize would go to her. While someone who Tiered up could benefit from the final chamber, her impossible core just might be made possible thanks to it.

A majority of those present had formed their cores already, and the magical scaffolding alone made their cores more perfect, and Fhesiah didn’t even need to help them. It made up for lacking materials, or for poor cultivation techniques–in addition to the Framework’s aid with the helpful tribulation.

Thanks to this, their leveling through the second Tier would be easy and straight-forward. Every five levels or so might have required them to shift their core slightly toward perfection–which she was sure the Framework would help with. But those helped by her or by the special scaffolding would have a straight shot toward the end of the Tier.

If their core had a poor result, they might have ended up stuck forever. Their core would eventually become unstable as they infused it with heavenly energy to grow, and may require treasures and alterations, or improvements to their cultivation technique or daos to shift their core toward perfection and continue–if it was even possible at all.

It had already been days since the Alliance entered the inner sanctum, and only the dimming of some seals around the final gate showed any indication that the enemy might be arriving soon. It appeared the enemy was not far behind them, and she wondered how difficult of a challenge the vampire and his army would be.

As they fought through the waves of mobs and removed seals, Fhesiah stayed in kitsune form, slowly refining the dragon’s core and the claw treasure for core formation in her lung pill furnace. Argenthrax’s dragon soul made her lungs even sturdier, and her dragon claws had received a sharpness improvement as well.

Removing the last seals around a chamber, Fhesiah was shocked when Sati was suddenly sucked inside. Earlier, one of the nekomatas had received a powerful inheritance, one of Aria’s many nieces. It turned the giant cat into an amazing healer overnight, and Fhesiah was hopeful for her to become a priestess of Bastet later.

After defeating the dragon with Bastet’s power and healing, the Nekomatas felt even more indebted to Fhesiah, and that Bastet was agreeable to them. It was one thing to know of a divine’s existence, and it was another to feel it, and for it to save your people. Aria’s clan of her race were over a thousand in number, despite only a few dozen of them being present.

It was a day after Sati entered the inheritance that the enemy army arrived at the opposite end of the massive courtyard. Alliance forces had long-since forced open enough chambers to make the final challenge available, their lead providing a tremendous advantage-in earning just a few more benefits before the final confrontation.

Not only that, but even should they fail here and lose much of the loot, it wouldn’t be considered a massive loss, only a minor one when it came to the overall Sector War. She was currently in Sector 81, something that was only a few months away without her express ticket.

The large gate to the inner courtyard opened, and Fhesiah sent her signal to her husband as their army marched inside. He had been ready to enter the Temporal Chamber, prepared for the final battle, with as much time in the chamber as he possibly could have.

It was here that their investment in the cultivators appeared to bear fruit. It seemed that rather than invest in his allies, the vampire had invested in himself. Fhesiah guessed he had gained nearly fifteen levels from various chambers consuming the energy instead of allowing most of his allies to advance to the next Tier, and many of his allies had unstable auras at the peak of the first at best.

Several urns were drawn out, and many blood beasts were released. Hundreds of the monsters appeared, their bodies filled with blood rage.

In all, it looked like the two forces were evenly matched based on numbers, but Fhesiah knew the truth: the enemy was on their last legs. They had used some horrible means to force the seals open, likely using the tainted blood in various ways, weakening their allies and consuming much of their better blood beasts.

The Bloodbeast Sect had expected the Alliance to fall to their plot and plunder this inner sanctum, but instead, the Alliance had healed and were strengthened by the special chambers.

Fhesiah’s forces had both quantity and quality, the Adventurers having reached the second Tier. The Earthforged had all grown to be even more menacing, and Thane Grimm’s forces and the tribal warriors even more powerful. Clearing the many monsters in the chambers, some had even leveled up more than once.

Backed up by the cultivators having all reached the second Tier safely instead of dying in their ascensions, her force’s auras were stable.

The vampire was a man with long white hair and red martial robes, and a rapier at his waist. He floated through the air using heavenly energy, seemingly unwilling to touch the ground. Core cultivators could fly with nearly no effort at all, almost like she could with her draconic flight.

The battlefield was large and flat with a stone tile ground, with what looked like a wizard’s tower in the center. Bands of mysterious glyphs ran up the tower, and ominous clouds swirled around what appeared to be a room or chamber at the very top, with a golden halo encircling it.

Her heart thumped in her chest as she gazed at it, the pull of fate of the special location nearly making her want to run toward it. From the looks of the nearby cultivator’s covetous eyes, she was thankful that she had cemented herself as the leader–otherwise many might have tried to fight her for it.

Perfection was something that all cultivators sought, to bring them closer to the heavens themselves. By harmonizing their souls and bodies with the heavens, they would eventually become one with them. This chamber sounded like it would bring them dozens of steps closer in a single go.

As the fight began, Fhesiah couldn’t help but smile. Dozens of cultivators each triggered their talismans she handed out, not needing them for herself in the end. Of course she kept many, but she might as well get some use out of them.

Transparent barriers of heavenly energy surrounded them, and then many of the warriors triggered spell scrolls and spell rods Jake had prepared.

Thane Grimm and a few of his Nordic warriors used a rod for sending a powerful bolt of lightning across the battlefield, and a large Thornwood Field sprung up, slowing the bloodbeast’s advance.

Then, the elemental spirits and Radiant Flame Sect were quick to set the field ablaze, and the Great Wind Sect fueled the flames with their winds. Strangely, many of the bloodbeast sect members, the cultivators, waited in the back and watched this happen.

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And they opened more urns, several stronger beasts spilling out of them. These looked even more chimeral, giant beasts covered in blood. This had a visible cost, directing tainted blood to control the beasts.

The creatures began to rush over, and Fhesiah was satisfied that the formations within the Alliance army shifted, Thane Grimm calling out and guiding the Adventurers.

The vampire then took the field, with a few of the stronger cultivators following him. Many of the other blood slaves were being held against their will in chains, and their blood was being spilled onto the ground.

Fhesiah went out to meet the leader in battle, knowing that he would be formidable. Xara, Weiyan, Aria, Elder Wang, and a few of the other more elite members went to join.

When it came to battles among cultivators, the elites often decided victory. Fhesiah or this Vampire would run roughshod over whomever remained, even with minimal amounts of heavenly energy available to them.

The two elite forces neared, and began building up their attacks. The vampire who could only be named Raython based on the ladder scores drew his sword, a blood-red thin blade.

“So it was true–a kitsune led the enemy’s forces. I don’t know how you defeated Argenthrax, but it does not matter.” He sneered. “I came prepared.”

The pools of blood behind him surged, and monstrous faces appeared on several towers of corpses rising from the depths. The entire battlefield felt as if it was covered in blood, monstrous, unholy screams and wails of pain and torment from the towers filling their ears.

The sky darkened, and she felt her kitsune bloodline being restricted. The ice sword held within Xara’s hand began to melt, and Aria’s shadow-like half’s aura diminished.

The foxflames flickering above her tails became but small flames of candles, her aura being weakened significantly. The vampire’s allies began using various methods, from creating large blood spears, to dashing toward the Alliance elites with an apparition of a beast taking over their features. The vampire charged Fhesiah’s position, flying at her with his blade emanating a deadly aura.

Snorting, she triggered her moon to set and her sun to rise, and her body started to shift. Then, there was a welcoming feeling: Jake had arrived in her spiritual temple, and he took on the State of the Sage. Runes on her armor lit up, and the weakening aura against her kitsune bloodline was reduced, her foxfires increasing in power.

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Jake’s Hearthian Presence washed over their allies, and his Aura shielded them from the effect further. Xara and Aria’s auras surged, the two joining the defense against the oncoming unorthodox cultivators.

Fhesiah’s body was covered in her armor, but she raised a hand to the sky. Demonic runes filled with draconic fire and Jake’s runes coalesced into a single construct, unleashing their Tier 2 spell: Dragon’s Breath.

As the apparition of a dragon’s head appeared in front of her facing the vampire, he sensed the danger it represented and covered himself with a shield of blood. The roar of flames was tremendous, evaporating much of the blood and sending Raython tumbling, covered with flames.

Raython did not hit the ground, and managed to snuff out the flames with a flaring of his aura. As expected, his strength was significant.

Fhesiah had decided on the move to buy some time for her to finish her transformation, and was already gathering her flames within her lungs. She didn’t want this fight to go on any longer than it had to.

Raython scoffed. “You’re a dragon? How could my information be incorrect? That might explain how you killed Argenthrax, but you are not that strong.”

It was then that Fhesiah hit him with both curses of the sun and moon. To her surprise, the man’s blood seemed to answer on its own and leap in front of the curses, absorbing the effect.

The blood was covered both red, and black and purple flames. The man looked at the flaming blood shield with a frown.

“Interesting. It’s some form of Intent, but different? Very peculiar.” He looked over at the battlefield and how the Adventurers and Cultivators of the Alliance were destroying the bloodbeast sect cultivators with ease, and sighed. “I did not bring enough resources, it looks like. Somehow, you can even prevent the curse. A miscalculation.”

“It means this’ll be costly. What a waste, to use my ancestor’s blood for this.”

His aura was already powerful, but his strength rose sharply. The blood from the large pool behind him began to float toward him in streams, a terrifying, malevolent energy gathering. It was like one of the evil champions called on his divine, but Fhesiah knew this was different. This was a cultivator, using a special energy bequeathed to him, much like Argenthrax from before.

A powerful spear of blood shot at Fhesiah, with mysterious black glyphs covering it. Fhesiah was about to meet it with her claw, but Jake blocked with a powerful barrier of Hearthflames in alarm. It was then that she sensed it–even taking a small wound would be extremely dangerous, him taking control of her blood.

Raython frowned at her successful defense, but continued to gather blood for another attack.

“How many spells can you manage, husband?”

[At least five more, limited like this. More if you split the load like the first one.]

Readying her torch, she gathered more flames of both paths, foxfires and draconic flames to counter the vampire’s attack. Continuing to store more flames for her breath attack, she knew this fight would get dangerous.

Using the stencils on her fan, she formed a powerful ball of draconic flames, while Jake’s runes coalesced into an empowered Tier 2 Runic Magic Spear of Berri’s holy-light-infused flames. The two attacks shot out at the vampire at the same time, and the man growled as he finished his empowered attack, slicing his sword into the huge ball of blood he was coalescing.

To Fhesiah’s surprise, dozens of waves of blood were sent out in quick succession, like a sword trail of countless red blades–at their attacks, and the large crowd of Alliance cultivators in the distance.

Her talisman barriers held for some, while others were cut into, sending out a shower of blood as they were killed. This blood released congealed into a new attack, streams of blood forming blades and knives as they rushed at the various Alliance members anew.

Xara had nearly gotten cut by one, but Weiyan swooped down with his angelic wings, forming a powerful flaming shield in front of her. Using his interference, she countered at her opponent with a powerful blade of ice, while Elder Wang finished off his enemy with a giant flaming cauldron.

Fhesiah gathered her flames and directed the fire elementals to counter the blood, and most importantly, Ruby. The blood badgerdillo halted many of the blood spears, sucking up a small amount of the blood.

[Wait, what the hell is that? Is that a–]

Raython frowned at the creature, and started to try to counter the creature by controlling the ancestor’s blood–but Fhesiah’s foxfires slammed into his blood wall, interrupting him. This was followed up by the flames of her torch and a Scorching Ray from Jake, removing much of Raython’s special blood.

“I’ll tell you later. Help me with my flames, we’re going for broke.”

Quicker than thought, she updated him on her problems in the past with creating the deadly mixture. Both of them in the state of the sage, their minds worked together with expert focus and precision.

Gathering the flames which found balance thanks to the formations in her lungs into her inner chamber, Jake added the flames of their family along with hers. Mixing her three daos of dragon flames, kitsune flames, and claw of alchemy, the three mixed until they compressed within.

Fhesiah could feel Jake’s worry, but also his focus. As the three energies became something more, he breathed out his void energy. It wrapped around the turbulent ball of multicolored flames, covering it in its entirety.

Ensconced in the void, the energy compressed further, and it was like a star was ignited. A golden flame flickered into existence, a fire that was somehow entirely new, containing flames of heaven and earth–and it was all hers. With her will, she directed it out as she opened up the vent in her chest, and a blast of golden flame shot at the vampire.

The ancestor’s blood reacted to the threat of her golden flames instantly, shooting at it like a spear. Reality seemed to warp around both immense energies, the air becoming thin and the image blurring around them.

When the golden flames met the spear, the Intent within held on for a brief moment as it began to boil. Veins popped out of Raython’s face as he tried to control and reinforce the blood, but eventually, the spear exploded into streams of flame.

Her attack was mostly defeated, but it hadn’t been without cost from the vampire: his entire ball of special blood had been consumed in that counterattack.

Which was why his eyes bugged out of his head, when Fhesiah drew more flames with Jake into her lungs. Many of the bloodbags in the distance that maintained the ritual that was meant to weaken her exploded, and the blood rushed toward him.

Fhesiah’s breath attack was ready, and she breathed out again. The golden blast of flames was lesser than the first attack, but she could tell it was beyond Raython’s ability to deal with.

Mustering his bloodred aura, his sword sent out a wave of blood which cut into the flame, but the fire persisted through and snaked toward him, despite his efforts. Depleted slightly by his attack, she guided the flames to move around his weapon’s guard and shred the arm holding his blade.

The golden flames began to spread onto his body, his blood-red aura unable to stop it. With the vampire busy and the Intent destroyed, Fhesiah was quick to add the curse of the sun and moon to the vampire directly, sealing his fate.

The ancestor’s blood dissipated, and Fhesiah came after him with her claws filled with the flames of her path. His sword arm destroyed and much of his Qi depleted, he was put on the defensive.

With draconic might and Jake’s enhancements, wounds mounted on the vampire’s body, her dao of dragon claw mixed with each of her flames individually.

A bloodred silhouette eventually appeared behind him, four claws digging deeply into his body from behind.

Once again, it was Ruby. Empowered by all the blood consumed, she bit into his neck and continued to drink as the man screamed in agony.

The vampire was drained, his skin drying up and aging rapidly as his blood was depleted. Ruby bit and chewed on his flesh, sucking in his blood as she ripped and tore into him further, his core being emptied of all blood. Raython expired, the light leaving his eyes.

Fhesiah crinkled her nose. “Yuck. We’re going to have to work on your eating and kill-stealing habits later.”

Ruby tilted her head, a frown marring her muzzled face in confusion.

Retrieving Raython’s cosmos sack, Fhesiah’s score jumped significantly once more. Within the sack, she quickly found that there were several resources once purified would be very helpful to Ruby.

Raython dealt with, they quickly worked together to finish off the remaining enemies of the battlefield. All the blood bags and slaves were far beyond the point of rescuing, and the Alliance had truly managed to defeat a majority before the cleanup. Only a few were kept alive, the blood slaves accepting their fate for survival–becoming cripples of cultivation.

[All Opposition has been defeated. Victory: Alliance.

Conquest Score to be calculated and personalized rewards for overall performance to be granted upon Closure.

Celestial Nexus Inner and Outer Sanctum will be available for access until the battleground closes, the seals weakened.

Closure in: 1 month and 13 days.]

[The top earner, you have earned first rights to the final reward, Perfected Core Ascension. Do you accept the Celestial Nexus reward, or will you pass to the next in line?]

Of course, she selected to accept the reward.

[Reward accepted. You have until 7 days remaining to enter the tower.]

[Goddess Task Complete. The potential Bastet followers have been rescued and have joined the Framework, preventing a terrible fate. You have convinced them to both join the Framework, but also consider Bastet as their Divine Patron. Reward: Champion’s Celestial Flame Lamp of Bastet.]

Her special lamp flew out of her bag, and was bathed in the golden lights of the Framework. It transformed before her eyes, changing shape and size, and becoming even larger. Gold suns and moons matching Bastet’s imagery covered the lamp, and Fhesiah could feel its immense power.

[Mythic Item: Champion’s Celestial Flame Lamp of Bastet]

[Absorbs and stores flames, and nurtures creatures stored within. Creatures stored within the lamp, will be joined to the Framework, and can be used in combat. Grants Summon Flame Elemental ability. Note: Tied to Champion’s Spell to function, does not count toward Challenge Item Limit.]

An interesting ability–she now had her own summon ability to match some of her sister-wives and husband.

Fhesiah looked over her allies, and saw that many had made it. She had been unable to monitor most of them throughout the battle, focused on hers as she was, but very few had fallen thanks to her supplying them with so many talismans and scrolls, and spell rods.

The enemy’s side of the Inner Sanctum was nearly untouched, the Alliance’s lead granting them access to many benefits. While they might have received much from the cosmos sacks of the defeated enemy, many of the treasures and rewards were things people consumed immediately. Because of this, it was like they doubled or tripled their loot.

Fhesiah grinned. “Plenty of time, and tons of loot.”

Weiyan landed next to her, and Xara was quick to join him.

“That tainted blood was truly terrifying. I was worried your fight with Argenthrax recently had weakened you, but it appears you…defied expectations once again. Just what were those flames, and that presence? More powers from the goddess?”

Fhesiah beamed. “No. Those were the powers of my husband, and the power of my family. Anyone who faces one of us will face us all.”

Aria, the large cat arrived next. “The dragon and the vampire were quite the elites, and yet you triumphed, Senior. Thanks to you and all this wealth, my clan is truly saved. We’ll make our way over to your sector soon and try to find a place for ourselves. If you need my people, just call and we’ll be there.”

[Looks like we’re good now, huh? We did it. Those flames of yours were really something, does that mean your path works?]

“Yes, we did, and it does. Still, I’m a bit worried… I don’t have void energy, to make them stable like that.”

[I think it’ll work out. You see, we learned something…]

The two spoke for a time about his hearth situation, and she thought she understood. There was a good chance that things would…just work out. Now was her final chance to scrub away her path, already finding a few treasures that might aid in this. Instead, she would continue forward with conviction. She, along with her family and their allies, the Framework and the Divine, would make the impossible possible.

Fhesiah stayed and helped clear the way to the remaining chambers over several days, waiting for Sati to get out of her inheritance, and for Ruby to absorb the vampire’s blood.

To kill time, Fhesiah practiced with her claw of alchemy, and cleaned much of the tainted blood within the many sacks of the enemy. Ultimately, she didn’t want to bring any of the horrible stuff home with her, so she made sure the taint was eradicated in its entirety.

Fhesiah helped Ruby form her core, the blood badgerdillo reaching the second Tier. Her power soared as she increased in size, but kept a fairly compact form. Her four claws were incredibly vicious, the gemlike protrusions that comprised her claws holding an even deadlier sharpness.

Nearly no fur was left on her body, only scales and gemlike spikes.

Sati eventually returned too, her core already formed. Fhesiah was both shocked and excited at the changes, and she couldn’t wait to have her meet Jake.