The golden runes pulsed, space warped, clearly linking to somewhere far away. Niara clenched her fists, ready to fight or run. But Darian didn’t feel any heavy karma approaching — this was something different than expected.
Several shadows began to appear in the center of the room. There were eight figures... the scent of blood came with them.
After a few seconds, Darian and Niara widened their eyes. He immediately focused and saw two souls bound by rune chains.
The two of them heard that and their eyes widened. They focused on that Dragoness, confused... it took them a moment to notice the little slug on her shoulder.
"Bro?" they both murmured in sync, surprised.
Niara turned to four figures behind the two souls. They were the three Elders Darian had called back in the library. There was also a Summoner, a red-haired man with bird-like legs and arms.
Those four were covered in blood and had very deep wounds — they looked like people on the verge of death.
Behind them... were two small, strange-looking Mannaz, both chained with runes just like the ones binding the two souls.
When they arrived, the four gathered what little strength they had left, as if it was their last breath. They clenched their fists and crushed several crystals. This caused the space behind them to shatter and the connection they were using disappeared.
Darian quickly turned to them, activating the white power.
The four of them felt a warm, soothing sensation and took deep breaths. Within three seconds, they stared in shock at their bodies — they were completely healed.
"You’re Ruoku?" Darian asked, looking at the Summoner.
The man looked at the slug and nodded. "Yeah, I heard from these friends of mine that you came from the same place as my partner."
Ruoku was Leander’s Summoner. Darian had also planned to find him, but hadn’t had the chance before everything went crazy.
Darian sighed in relief and looked at the twins. "You two took a risk to escape... good job."
Lanalia nodded. Then she quickly explained that if you were already inside the planet, it was easier to get out. But trying to escape would alert the Academy’s inscription and block the way.
Turns out, after Darian destroyed half the runes in this node of the planet’s inscription, the Academy Leader got on high alert and shifted the energies to seal that door.
At that moment, they saw an opportunity and used everything they had to escape. There was already a direct channel from the Academy to this planet, which the Dragon King had been using. They used it, hoping they’d find Darian here.
Even so, they had to force their way through. Traveling through space like that was really risky — the four of them got badly injured from it, and still managed to protect the two fragile souls and the two young Mannaz.
Darian looked at the two chained Mannaz.
They were a very young boy and girl, probably a bit younger than Lucy and Lucius. Both had small wings with colorful feathers on their backs. On top of their heads, two pointed ears like a wolf’s stood out. Their arms and legs looked a lot like those of a big feline.
They were clearly Mannaz with Enfield Bloodline, but... they didn’t belong to any of the three tribes. Their bodies were a mix of bird, canine, and feline.
Both had empty stares and no expression. They were looking straight ahead like robots, not moving at all.
Darian asked, surprised, "They’re their Summoners? Why’d you bring them?"
"Bro, I was the one who asked them to save them," Lucy spoke up right away.
Lucius focused on the two with a pained expression, then murmured, "They look empty... but Lucy and I can feel what they’re feeling... actually, they’re both really scared. They just can’t show it or move their bodies."
Niara and the others looked troubled.
"It hurts them a lot, all of this... they’re innocent, but they can’t show anything," Lucy added, her eyes trembling.
Darian sighed. They had an incomplete contract, but just like him and Niara, there was already a connection that let them sense what the others felt and communicate.
The slug snorted. His two rings pulsed at full power, and he focused on the two.
It didn’t take long — he knew exactly where to look. At the entrance of both their mental seas, there was a black mark. It was like a slavery seal that stopped them from doing what they wanted. Something sinister — only possible because of a Risen’s power.
With a single thought, that black mark shattered.
Everyone saw the two Mannaz’s expressions change instantly. Their eyes widened and started trembling... they looked around, then made muffled sounds, unsure how to react.
"It’s okay now, you’re free. You’ll never go through something like that again," Darian said softly.
The two of them swallowed hard, staying silent as they stared at the slug.
Seconds later, tears started streaming down their faces — they couldn’t believe what they were feeling.
Those four were the most shocked — they knew something powerful had been controlling the two. And now it had been removed... just like that? So easily?
"Let’s go, we’ll talk later," Darian said quickly, and Niara nodded, turning around.
The four understood, then picked up the two souls and the chained young ones, following behind Niara.
When they came out from underground, it was still a very dark night.
Everyone’s eyes widened. They saw rubble everywhere, the ground destroyed, the intense smell of blood...
Quietly, without them noticing or seeing, Darian took a deep breath. Then a massive amount of dark Karma moved towards him, getting devoured. Mannaz usually didn’t have as much as the Risen, but these were special and not too far off in quantity.
Thousands died there; Darian devoured a lot at once, and then... he felt his white ring getting close to the evolution threshold. He got excited; the black ring had been bottlenecked for a long time, waiting for the white ring to advance.
Niara spread her wings, and the world lit up.
"Green Divine Armor."
Her body, covered in green scales, pulsed with a bright glow.
This transformation, unlike the other two, was a peculiar and useful middle-ground. It wasn’t as defensive and Bloodline-focused as the white transformation, nor was it as fully offensive and powerful as the black one.
And it didn’t burn Darian’s white or black power — it only consumed the ring’s power — so it wasn’t bad for either attacking or defending. It was a strategic transformation that could handle all situations with low energy cost.
Everyone was focused on the pair in front of them, nervous.
Those Mannaz felt their hearts pounding like a drum. Any of Niara’s transformations made her Bloodline way more intense — the white one just multiplied that even more.
Meanwhile, the two souls had their eyes locked on the slug, their eyes glowing. Their brother and his partner were shining brightly and gave off an overwhelming sense of greatness.
Niara turned to them and nodded.
A green aura moved and wrapped around everyone behind them.
The slug pulled out three spatial artifacts and activated them. A spatial distortion appeared around them.
"Stay close. She’ll protect you. We’ll get there fast," Darian said softly.
They quickly moved closer to Niara. She stayed in front — and then they all disappeared.
Within a minute, they appeared high in the skies of another planet.
Everyone in the back was holding their breath. They hadn’t even gotten a scratch — she’d managed to attract all the spatial blades to herself and still came out unharmed.
Everyone landed on the ground without any problems.
The green armor faded away. Darian had needed to use several spatial artifacts to move that many people, which increased the strain on Niara — that’s why a stronger armor had been necessary.
Right after they arrived, several giant black wolves appeared in the distance, running toward them.
The Elders jumped, startled. These beasts were really strong — they wouldn’t stand a chance.
Ruoku recognized it, surprised: "This is the planet..."
"Yeah, it’s a safe place," Niara cut him off and calmly moved forward.
The four of them didn’t know what to say. The two souls looked radiant and excited, taking in everything around them.
Author’s Note: Power Stones event! Check the rules below.