The time of the Hundred Year Trials were upon the
Optimatoi--the tolling of the first bells being the call to war, as the gates to the Fifth Sea swung wide--and the first wave of the Hunters emerged.
As always, the first wave was Qi Condensation against Qi Condensation--the earliest initiates on the path of Cultivation clashing with each other in displays of martial arts and battle techniques. Always the bloodiest bracket--if only from the sheer numbers involved in the affair, even if the scale tended to be small compared to the superhuman abilities of the higher realms.
The strategy of the
Optimatoi had remained fixed since the ideal deployment permitted by the Hunters was discovered. In each wave, the Hunters arrived in small groups, and the
Optimatoi tried to achieve what defeat in detail was possible before they could gather together in any real numbers and become unassailable to any permitted combat method.
This time around, things were different.
*Ring*
"Sixth Century, I've got twelve Hunters just popped in your patrol route, three degrees North-North West of your current position, Six more are approaching them and will arrive within thirty minutes, followed shortly by a group of twenty, don't let them consolidate!"
The Token-Sensing Tree rang again from its position before Rina Callista, legs crossed as she meditated on its readings. In her hands was a Hundred League Clarion Horn--linked with a number of receiver jewels distributed through her Legion's forces.
She heard the acknowledgement as the Sixth Century diverted onto the designated target--at five to one odds, even against the Hunters, that was a quick win--quick enough that they could fight a few of those in succession.
Much of Rina's time in the first few days of the Trials involved travelling between the fronts in her Legion's area of responsibility, meditating on the Token-Sensing Tree's data and ensuring her Legion could win the first clashes with relative ease. It did make her somewhat of a target… But there were no rules against Foundation Establishment
talking after all--and the treasures she used were all reasonable spoils of war.
The fact that the Moderators hadn't struck her down proved her gamble to be correct--and so far, her area had kept the Hunters under control. Things would get dicey again when the Foundation Establishment wave arrived--but this was proving to be a fair proof of concept from end to end.
Reports from other fronts showed that the Scorpion Cavalry--of all things--was performing above all reasonable expectations too. Apparently what they lost in speed compared to a more traditional steed they more than made up for in terrifying demeanour and a multitude of natural weapons.
Provided this pace could be maintained, it was looking like--this time around at least--the Golden Devils were giving as good as they got. Still at a disadvantage of course--that was always going to be the case as long as the Hunters held all the cards--but on the whole?
No real surprises, and no real calamities either, and that was precisely what the Clan
needed this year.
Rina let herself smile as she collected the Tree--absorbing it into her Spatial Ring with a gesture. She stepped back over to the
Talaria, hopping into the greaves and taking hold of the controls within the arms.
"Well, it's a step up from the last go around!" Muqin Guo observed as power gathered in the Skirmish Armor--the Cauldron's own levitation ability transferred within as the war machine began to hover.
"Still surprising though that you can call a bloodbath like this a good run though."
"Any run where we don't lose more than a fifth of our numbers is a good one." Rina mused. "So far, we might actually be a spot beneath that too--at least at this rate."
"It does seem a bit too good to be true, doesn't it?"" Muqin Guo continued.
"The next bell won't be long from now, right? That means you too will be pursued--is it safe to be out here in the open like this?"
"Not much of a choice in the matter" Rina shrugs--flicking a switch on the controls to trigger the Detonator Engine--a small stream of powdered Spirit Stones fed into an array at the back of the
Talaria
Causing her to lurch back as the Skirmish Armor accelerated, thrust generated from the release of Qi as the powder was ignited. Controlling this big thing was a hassle--but Rina couldn't look down on the added speed it got her.
She couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before she could fly on her own power? It was supposed to be the realm of a Nascent Soul…
But so were some of the powers that she had begun to touch upon as a Single Pillar Cultivator--a King crowned by her own hand. Maybe by the next trial, she wouldn't need a big device like this to jet around?
"Are you trying to make me obsolete?" Muqin Guo complained.
"I mean, I certainly wouldn't object to be used as a cauldron again instead of a tool of war and transportation, but it does feel somewhat disappointing that you're outgrowing me so quickly."
"Isn't that a good thing though?" Rina grinned, as she looked forward to the distant horizon. "It means you won't need to be so worried all the time."
"Oh, I can always find a reason to be worried!" Muqin Guo cautioned.
"There's always a bigger fish after all, you yourself even learned that not so long ago!"
Rina's expression darkened. "I suppose you're right,'' she admitted. "But I can't let that stop me, or slow me down. I promised to not stop until I was the
strongest, and could protect everyone no matter what came after us."
The image of Athenia Callista, grinning even as she brought down three enemy Nascent Souls in the fall of the Old Territories--the pride of the
Archgetes at those who completed his training. The faces of family and kin as all were rendered up to buy just a little more time.
"If the world won't change unless we're strong enough to make it change, then that's all that I need to achieve." Rina concluded. "I just need to not do anything that would keep me from facing myself in the process."
"Spirit Severing is far from the limit of what you would need to face if you want to do that, you understand?" Muqin Guo cautions, and Rina just sighs helplessly. "Maybe, but it'll be a lot easier to reach that high if I push my cultivation to the limit at each step, right?"
"Mmm, I suppose you're right. As long as you don't get crushed out first." Muqin Guo bobbles in their compartment.
"It shouldn't be long until it's your stage now, should it?"
"Not long at all," Rina agrees, tapping down on the ground briefly before kicking herself back into motion--the
Talaria may do a good job mimicking flight…
But really, it was more a very, very,
very wide series of strides. Even empowered by Rina's greater concentration of Qi, the cauldron just
couldn't quite provide enough lift to keep the
Talaria in the air indefinitely.
That, and saving fuel for the Detonator Engine--there was every chance she might have to lock horns against a Core Formation punching down before this was over, and she needed every edge she could get if that happened.
She still had time to coordinate a few more groups before it was time to prepare for the next wave of Hunters.
No sense in not doing what she could.
---------------------------------------------------------
The Trials wore on, and the pattern of the early stages seemed to hold true--even as the Hunters consolidated, they found far more had been eliminated than expected. No longer could they afford to send ranging groups out to search and destroy while leaving a large force to collapse on any points of resistance. They had to stay in their groups and give chase.
Which meant all the more Legionnaires were able to slip the net and go to ground, surviving where they otherwise would have died.
But Rina was out of time, she couldn't afford to tilt the scales any further than she already had.
Because the ringing of the second bell was nigh.
She rested, leaning back into the harness of the
Talaria as the Token Sensing Tree waited before her. She had topped up the fuel on the Skirmish Armor from one of the Callista supply caches just a day ago, and had been careful to avoid using it any further in the lead-up to the Second Bell.
Rina had already decided on her strategy from here on out--a lightning war, utilizing her greater mobility and her Emanation to identify, assault, and eliminate as many Hunters as she could get away with. It was as much about making a
statement as anything else was after all.
Of course, she was worried about her Emanation provoking the moderators to make a move… But she supposed as long as she forced surrenders and eliminated that way--it was unlikely they'd move like they would if she butchered the Hunters while they were unable to resist.
After all, she wasn't breaking any rules this way! It was Foundation Establishment vs Foundation Establishment! That she had something of an unfair advantage didn't mean she was violating the core rules, right? It was because the Hunters were too weak.
She'd be lying to claim that she wasn't worried about this--but Rina was reasonably certain that experts of the Spirit Severing level wouldn't be bothered to make a move for Foundation Establishment juniors that were simply getting a little bit humbled.
If they did, there wasn't much hope to begin with--and Rina refused to accept that.
So she waited, with the tree rustling in the wind before her, eyes closed as the final seconds ticked down.
tick
tick
tick
BONG
ring
Rina's eyes snapped open, the Token Sensing Tree retreating to her Spatial Ring. An immediate reaction right before her~
"Ah, how convenient, I didn't want to waste time"
The figure standing before her was a young woman, clad in white and red--a satisfied smile on her face as she raised a strange wand.
"Die"
The wand flickered with light--and Rina grunted as she was picked up by the force of the attack--the
Talaria's barrier flickered for a moment before dying, leaving the rest to be discharged right over her heart.
Fortunately, it had done its job properly, and dispersed much of the attack's force--but Rina still found herself forcibly stabilizing her cultivation base as she drove her
Blood of Gold to the limit.
The power eventually was exhausted, and Rina could finally take a breath of her own--she couldn't even see the attack that had come--but the level of force…
Core Formation? From the second bell?
"That's a surprise…"
The voice came from behind Rina this time--the Golden Devil whirled around--the blade of the
Talaria igniting to its full power in the same motion.
Only to be caught by an upraised hand.
"I had been expecting this to be a little clean up of a demon that got lucky." The girl mused--the ray of blade-qi halted by white light emitted from the girl's hand. "It's quite rare that I have to strike twice, you can feel content in hell."
Her free hand no longer held a wand of some sort--instead, a curved sword of peerless make swung out at Rina--shattering the ray of blade-qi, and tearing deep into the mechanisms of the
Talaria.
Mechanisms, yes--but no more than that.
The destroyed limb ejected, freeing Rina's right arm as she struck forward with the other arm. The girl's expression widened slightly as the Javelin Launcher spooled up.
But only slightly.
The Javelin Launcher sparked as Rina fed qi into it--and the entire edifice self-destructed.
"Points for effort, but garbage like that doesn't even qualify to touch my clothes." The girl says, her expression returning to normal. "Now that you're done resisting, please die?"
Her eyes flickered, and some buried instinct in Rina's heart brought her to activating the Detonator Engine, driving her aggressively to the side.
Which was all that saved her from the column of divine fire immolating her, simply
appearing on her current position.
"You're being a nuisance…" The girl admitted at that point, languidly approaching as Rina tried to get her bearings. "The outcome of this match was decided from the moment I, Aasmi Bhardvaj arrived here."
स्वर्गीय सितारा शुद्ध करना
AASMI BHARDVAJ
SUCCESSOR OF SAGE ATRI
स्वर्गीय सितारा शुद्ध करना
"Yet I'm still here, and largely unhurt." Rina subdued her own concern beneath an air of confidence, speaking to the girl in her own tongue. "It does seem like things aren't quite that decided yet, is it?"
The girl's brows go up. "It speaks a civilized tongue?" She muses. "Still, don't get ahead of yourself, even among the Fifth Sea, those who could qualify as my superiors in my own realm simply do not exist." Her wand returns to her hand, lazily held to her side. "Normally this sideshow wouldn't qualify for my attention, but the Pillar issued a special mission." She tapped her wand. "It is enough to move even those among the Sage Clans."
Rina frowned--even as she ejected the second totaled arm of the
Talaria. "I wouldn't call a genocide to be a
sideshow, I think."
Aasmi sighed. "Truthfully, I too think this Trial is a waste of time." She shrugs, her two weapons shining in the light of the sun. "It would be far better for you to be put out of your misery than to drag it out for petty profit" Rina's brow twitched. "But in the end, I suppose a reliable source of Good Karma is worth a little suffering."
"It's easy to say when you're not the one suffering." Rina sneered--her cultivation base roiling as she suppressed the
black rage that began to well up at that remark.
"True, but in the end--if you did not deserve this fate, I would not be here to mete it out upon you." She brought her weapons up into a casual fighting stance. "Now then, defend yourself--or don't--the result will be the same either way."
Rina didn't believe in simply defending herself when she could be attacking instead.
The bronze ring shimmered into view behind her--the Detonation Engine drove her forward--and from her Spatial Ring emerged a short spear and the silverine gladius she had been given by Bright Iron before leaving. Her speed was beyond her normal limits--and while she had lost the integrated weapons of the
Talaria, it still could enhance her mobility in its current state.
She descended on Aasmi Bhardvaj with the force of an avalanche--her Emanation bearing down on her.
And…
"Is this it?"
The Silverine Gladius was caught by Aasmi's curved sword, finding itself utterly surpassed. The short-spear was briefly evaded--before a casual glance saw it ignited and burned to ashes.
And Rina's Emanation simply passed through as though she wasn't there.
"A curious technique, but if you hope to shake my spirit, you'll find yourself disappointed" She observes, holding Rina back with her sword--even as the scholarly girl took her gladius in both hands. "Those who bear one of the Seven Heavenly Stars of the Great Sages are utterly beyond petty soul and
dharma attacks from those in the same realm as themselves."
She flicked her wrist--and Rina found herself flung back again--seven burning dots of heat scraping against her skin, burning through her breastplate and faltering only as her blood rallied against the assault. Aasmi wasn't content with simply witnessing this outcome though--she swung the wand in her hand--and dozens of glittering lights filled the air.
Glass?
She twirled her wand after this--and Rina understood what was coming next.
Hundreds of rays of light flashed into being for a moment, purifying light refracted again and again and again, closing off all possible avenues to escape before descending on the target at hand. Desert sand melted for hundreds of yards, and the wind blew past Aasmi--who slowly lowered her wand.
"Hmmmm…" She hummed, gesturing sharply as she witnessed the ruins of the
Talaria Skirmish Armor at the center. She nodded to herself, and advanced in to confirm the kill.
She poked at the wreckage, ignoring the flashing light from one section of it (Not even noticing as the rapidly accelerating light suddenly seemed to flicker, and then calm down once again). Then she frowned, and looked up into the distance.
"Clever, leaving the wreckage of your little toy behind, using a cauldron to block my attack and then using a treasure to cloak your aura for a moment as you flee." One of the edges of her mouth perked up--a hint of a smile.
"Well, if you're going to make me have to chase you, then don't complain about what happens because of it."
Her red mantle shines, and she lifts off from the ground, pausing only for a moment to get her bearings, and then heading off in one direction.
Shortly after she left, the device Aasmi had been tampering with switched back on--and the wreckage ignited in a terrible conflagration--enough to cripple even a Core Formation if delivered at close range.
It was a shame that she was too far gone by then to notice.
---------------------------------------------------
Since then, Rina had been on the run--she delivered a top priority message the moment she had a second to breathe, warning everyone of the presence of a King-class Fifth Sea Foundation Establishment Cultivator--and to not risk engaging her unless you had a means to escape from a Core Formation level fighter.
She needed backup if she was going to turn the tables here. The handful of volunteers who took a poke at Aasmi over the course of the pursuit managed to tease out some small degree of information at least--she could strike down anyone beneath Core Formation in an instant it seemed--either at a distance or from close up. She had a treasure that let her fly seemingly freely, and her senses were terrifyingly sharp. Minervina Barda even tried carrying out her usual routine and found that poison techniques failed utterly against the self-proclaimed Heavenly Star. There were also some choice curses in the battle report here and there.
As for the other members of the Thirteen who had reached Foundation Establishment… The Ninth Prince was--allegedly--dead (Though given how he was trying to foist off one of those trinkets of his on her a while back, she was halfway convinced this was just him faking his death again and he'd show up within half a century again no worse for wear), Wei Feng was apparently busy minding the previous generation in some big gambit to deal with a premonition and making sure they didn't hurt themselves. Magnus was busy digesting more poison than actually existed and was otherwise occupied on another front…
It really only left Jin Muyi--once Xiao Yi--and he had apparently decided to make his stand at Pleuron, baiting the Hunters into him in a grand, heroic gesture. Then he dropped out of contact--and with Pleuron evacuated by now, nobody was sending reports as to whether he was dead or alive anymore.
Still, he was the mightiest of Rina's generation, and if he was still fighting, she could suppress his opponents with her Emanation, and he could provide some much needed firepower against Aasmi Bhardvaj.
Simple, right?
"So where the
fuck is he!" Rina cursed, balanced precariously on top of Muqin Guo as she surveyed the empty city. "He's not dead, the crowds of Hunters are gone, but there's no bodies either--or horrifying hell jungle!"
Because of course he was nowhere to be found, here, now, when she could
really use some backup!
Admittedly, this was something of a long shot--the reports about what happened when someone actually
attacked Aasmi was… Disturbing--she didn't even need to react to attacks, because she was
so damn lucky that any attack would find itself miraculously turned aside!
Even if Rina got the entire roster of the Thirteen here--would that even be enough?
She hopped down from her perch, landing in the town square. It had been rebuilt well since the siege of the last Trial. Going from a near shattered fortress into a symbol of defiance, re-established more out of
spite than any real virtue. To prove that an impossible victory
mattered even if it could be undone a hundred years later.
Was the so-called Heavenly Star going to just
leave after she took Rina's head? Who could even stand against her afterwards? She had the power of the Single-Pillar Foundation… And yet the best she could do was barely preserve her own life with some tricks and flanking attacks. Muqin Guo could only take a few hits from that light of hers--and the Forge Spirit couldn't even scratch her even if she caged her. If anything, it just empowered her further!
The
Talaria was destroyed--and the self-destruct she had set failed… Presumably because of that ridiculous degree of Luck.
So how could Rina turn this around?
She looked out into the walls of Pleuron--she at least had the city here--that was better than nothing after all. It was a home field advantage!
But how do you beat someone who's protected by causality itself? Who has power beyond their Realm and utterly negates any advantage you could possibly bring to bear?
Rina rubbed her temples, and forced herself to look backward. A hundred years ago, she and a small company of others stood here, in this place, and did the impossible. They had taken down a
Core from Qi Condensation here! They had defied the nature of the world itself!
If she couldn't even take down one overpowered waif in the same realm as herself, then what was she doing with her life?
She had the answer--she knew it. She just… Needed… To…
Her eyes drift to the fountain at the heart of the town square--just like that time in Sha Yu City…
Kinslaughterer said something then, didn't he?
The path of their master, but not walking his Dao… But wasn't the Dao and the Path the same thing?
Rina's eyes widened. "No… It isn't… Not entirely…"
What were the four methods of Cultivation?
Absorbing the energy of Heaven and Earth to purify body and spirit
Absorbing the energy of powerful beasts, purifying it and using it to strengthen the self.
Absorbing the energy trapped within the earth, trapped in spirit stones.
Absorbing the power and spirit of humans to augment the self beyond all limitations.
"They're all the same…" Rina whispers as the thoughts go through her. Cultivation--all of it--from the top to the bottom ultimately had one thing in common.
It was consuming something, to empower the devourer.
The only difference was one's
preferred form of repast. There was never any way to Cultivate without devouring
something though!
"Then…"
The Single-Pillar Foundation can only be touched through consuming resources far, far beyond what is
required to fully purify the body. To reach beyond body and soul and affect the Dao itself.
But this? This was deeper than the Dao--even the Heavens couldn't create power from nowhere, could they?
Even the Heavens were subject to the Law of Consumption.
"What are you smiling about?"
Rina looked up to Aasmi, not even noticing her own grin. "Oh, you know, just thinking about how I was going to turn this around on you."
"Hmm." She nodded. "You've led me on a merry chase, I will admit." A
ripple behind her--a Dao Emanation beginning to manifest. "But I've wasted enough time chasing you."
Rina tilted her head, and her smile widened--touching on a rictus. "Mmm, you didn't stick around to murder most of my kin even after they tried to slow you, so I'll do you a favor." She turns around and raises one hand in front of her. "If you withdraw here and now, nobody else needs to be hurt."
Aasmi's expression wavers. "You can't possibly think you can change matters--you've not made any breakthroughs in the past months, and the difference in power between us is like night and day. Don't insult me with your bluffing."
"It's not a bluff," Rina warns. "I just got a piece of enlightenment. I know your weakness."
"Weakness?" Aasmi seemed genuinely puzzled at that statement. "For a Heavenly Star, no such thing exists." She shakes her head. "Regardless, I won't be swayed by your trickery. Well done for surviving this long, please die."
She lowers her hand--and a pillar of starfire begins to form.
Rina exhales--and the
[Halo of the World-Lord] manifests behind her, rotating as it typically does.
Then it halts in place--the runes inscribed within flickering for a moment.
Rina inhales.
And the
[Halo of the World-Lord] rotates
in reverse
The pillar of starfire flickers, wavers, and turns to dust as the power of the Single-Pillar seizes it. The power flickers for a moment--before being caught up in the vortex that was Rina's cultivation base.
Rina exhales--and the Halo returns to its normal operation.
"Thank you for the meal" She smiles, and looks back up to the now genuinely puzzled Aasmi Bhardvaj.
"What… What was that?" She asked, a trace of concern in her voice. "The power just… Vanished."
"The thing is… That power you used--it's not yours, not yet." Rina explained, stepping forward.
A spar of stone erupts from the ground before her, forming a stairway that Rina climbs--step by step, up to Aasmi's level. "You can maneuver it, you can cajole it, you can ask it--and it'll accomodate you. Because that's what it's for… But it's not yet
your power. And that means you don't have perfect control of it."
"What are you…" Aasmi wondered, and Rina smiled beatifically. "And because it's not your power, it means that there's not any difference between that power and the ordinary energies of Heaven and Earth."
Her Silverine Gladius was drawn--and from the fountain at the heart of the square came streamers of water, gathering around the edge, extending its reach.
Then it began to
oscillate, a high pitched
whine filling the air.
"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting." Rina said. "Let's have a fair fight now, shall we?"
The Wind howled, and Rina Callista propelled herself from her perch into Aasmi Bhardvaj.
To her credit, the Heavenly Star was still a veteran of many battles, she brought her curved sword up to match Rina's gladius--and this time, her power found itself matched. The humming whine of a high pressure water flow tore and ground at Aasmi's blade--pushing her back into one of the many larger buildings of Pleuron's core.
Aasmi Bhardvaj reacted quickly--close combat was no longer to her advantage with her opponent's new strength. She raised her wand, and bursts of purifying light fired off one after another--bursting and exploding in an area around Rina--a bubble of non-space that absorbed the hail of fire--until she closed in again with another forceful blow. Smashing Aasmi through the third floor down into the cellar.
"How is this…" Aasmi tries to gasp out--but finds the wind driven from her as a spike of stone forces her back up and into a nearby alleyway. "How are you doing this!"
"It's about Laws--or Dao, or Dharma--whatever you want to call it." Rina explained, grinning as her power of Wind threw her down into the alleyway--dancing on her toes as she pivoted down into Aasmi's position, locking blades again in a spray of pressurized water and her own innate Strength. "It's about Truth! To understand the nature of the world, and seek to teach it a lesson in turn!" Pistons of Stone fired, the ground erupting forth beneath Rina's feet to give her that much extra force--enough that Aasmi's own arms buckled and let her make a glancing cut. "Ordinary Cultivators find enlightenment bit by bit, growing as their understanding does. People like us though? We get a
deeper understanding! We touch on something fundamental to the world, and incorporate it into our understanding!"
Aasmi's cape shines, and she empowers her treasure to let her sail into the skies--to avoid Rina's greater strength when joined with the Earth below. She lurches and cries out as a whip of liquid fire catches her by the ankle--Rina's free hand holding the other end as she
pulls her back down slamming through three other buildings as she does so. "If it's a contest between Truth though, the one that incorporates the more fundamental Truth wins! Compared to that, what's a Truth of the Heavens compared to a Truth even the Heavens have to answer to?"
"That's impossible!" Aasmi cries out. "There is nothing beyond the Heavens!"
"Then…" Rina asks, extending her arms and inviting attack. "Where, precisely, did my people come from?"
There's a pregnant pause--and then Aasmi
Screams! An undulation of power freezing space around her--a shining mote of
Light emerging from her forehead. "I'll have your head for this!" The Sage-Descendent screamed. "This humiliation won't go uncha~"
Rina Callista was
right in front of her
Aasmi froze--and Rina's free hand
clasped around the projection.
The world went still.
"Something like this…" Rina warned. "Isn't something that children should have."
She
Breathes in
And the Purifying Heavenly Star begins to
move.
"No… No. No No No No NO!" Aasmi begins to panic as she feels her connection to the Heavenly Star
loosening. "That's.. That's not for you! That's not for you!"
"It's not exactly yours either, is it?" Rina pointed out. "Well, whatever, I'm not planning on keeping it anyway--but you know what they say… Winner takes all, right?"
Rina
pulled again--and she felt it now. There was enough power in this…
She could surge her way to Core Formation right now! If this even lasted an hour, maybe even an immediate surge to Nascent Soul! Her goal was directly in reach!
…
Which is why she shouldn't feel
that surprised and disappointed to feel
threat building on her person.
She looked up into the sky to witness the clouds--Tribulation would be her first guess, except…
No, there wasn't a trace of vitality to be found here--this was purely here to kill her.
She looked down, and saw Aasmi--pale and sweating, vanishing from her grasp, her Heavenly Star going with her. Her Token wasn't broken--but apparently that
just didn't matter
"Stingy" Rina pouted. "It's okay to throw and curse and abuse us, but the moment we get an advantage all of a sudden it's time to break things up?"
This wasn't even like the Five Elements Tribulation--this was pure killing will--enough to kill a city in a single stroke.
"What a waste…" Rina deflated, the power she hadn't yet digested gathering in her hand. "Well, okay, we'll do it your way--but don't go sending her again unless you're willing to pay a price for it next time, got it?"
The bolt of Divine Punishment descended--as Rina Callista sent the starfire of the Purifying Heavenly Star back at it.
The Bolt parted around it, saving Rina and the area around her.
The rest of Waycastle Pleuron? Not so much.
It was said that many letters of apology were sent after the fact to various dignitaries here and there, as the bolt of Heavenly Punishment had scorched the landscape for miles around.
But Rina knew it was only going to be a temporary reprieve--she had never known a Chosen being willing to accept defeat--however fleeting.
She'd need to bring her Pillar as close to perfection as possible, in the time she had left--and maybe this time, she'd be able to finish the job.
