A Vow Broken; A Bond Reforged

[Kilik]

At this rate, it would be Kilik's blood spilled first; if that happened, the rite would conclude, and the abbot would choose her fate. Even if he allowed her to live, the disgrace before her squad and the dishonor of failing to meet her directive issued to her directly from the mouth of the Emperor would spell the end of everything she had worked thus far to achieve. Defeat here was not an option; it was not that she doubted she possessed the power to crush him; despite the viciousness and awe-inspiring strength her father exhibited, Kilik knew, as she was now, was more than capable of overpowering him, but could the young drake do so without killing him?

She remembered when Orvyn took over her body and unleashed tidal terror in her fight against Qalen, the lives of those other recruits washed away by her magic. Their names are soon to be lost to time. Their families weeping, left with nothing but memories of what they could have become. It was not their loss of life that upset her per se, but the fact that she was not in control; it was not by her hand personally that they fell. However, over the last eight months, the young dragon kin has trained diligently, fiercely, and honed her mind and body for this very sake to no longer fear her might but embrace her fullness. She had come to understand much of what she did not know when she first underwent this journey and has learned to trust not just in her and Orvyn's bond but in herself as a person fighting for a better world—a thriving one, free of needless death, and pointless sacrifice.

"If we continue like this, you will lose, and your father will forfeit. Kilik, I have but one question for you"

The thrashing she was taking was becoming increasingly difficult to withstand, but even then, Orvyn's voice spoke so crisply and clearly that it was as if nothing else was around her.

"Do you trust me?"

Though they had not verbally spoken, with each day that passed, each milestone in her journey of shinjustu mastery as Orvyn slept, Kilik could feel her madness waining, her fury subsiding, allowing their tethering to become stronger. Orvyn, by her very essence, was an aspect of nature itself. As Kilik drew more in synch with the ebb and flow of the planet, she drew closer in kind to the mother of the seas. This unspoken bond, this presumption of mutual maturation and acknowledgment of each other's capabilities, enriched Kilik's ability to siphon her patron's power. Kilik was surprised; none but her master, Eralia, had ever asked her such a thing. Kilik's eyes began to fill with tears. If it had been anyone else, she might have hesitated to answer; truthfully, she would've immediately answered no. But Orvyn, even in her fury, has consistently defended Kilik, freeing her of her timidity: their termini and their goals. They are the same. Kilik had proven herself able to stand on her own two feet, her ideals, and now the Primordial wished to work alongside her. Izzy and Squad 5, though keeping their distance, had followed, determined to see this outcome with their own eyes.

"You...have always stood with me, safeguarding, steering, even when submerged in outrage. There were moments you hummed the psalms of the sea in my dreams, standing as a citadel when I was too impotent to fend myself; I feared you, mistook you, and even misused your passion in my sightless frenzy, yet you have still been by my side. Even when deciding to go to B'halia, you did not dissuade me; you've let me make my own choices and mistakes, encouraging me to use my power, stop holding back, and pick me up every time. You helped me shoulder that grief, Orvyn, and made me strong. Being able to speak with you this way, I'm glad because I finally got to tell you from my mouth..."

Kilik's body began to emit a growing coral light.

"I trust you, Orvyn, with my very life,"

Though Kilik could not see her face, she could feel the wellspring of emotion streaming from Orvyn to her. Kilik's diligence in the journey of mastery had become a salve to Ornyvs mind, allowing the dragon spirit to regain its memory and the vast well of its knowledge.

"Shinjustu...it has restored my understanding of the macrocosm and also affords me the insight to know that your application of it has been limited...one dimensional."

Kilik embellished her defenses. Her scales became increasingly more resilient, slowly beginning to outpace the power of his attacks. Orvyn's words stirred Kilik; what could she mean?

"You have observed that Ki, the cornerstone of Shinjustu, is the lifeblood of Vescrutia. That is not a wrong observation, but a small one. Just as the ocean is one part of the greater whole, the center of all life..."


Kilik's mind danced with visions of the fabrics of space-time mashing together like bodies of water creating the universes.

"Vescrtuia is but a part of it, and just as she is the center, I too...must."

Upon this realization, Kilik was basking in universal splendor, bubbles of ki birthing new planes, space-time flowing like a myriad of rivers and streams.

"Do you understand now?"

"I do..."

"Then come, my destined! Let us tap into the river of the universe, feel the ocean of the heavens, the leylines of all existence in the great tides of time. The last time I stood in your way, this time, I will guide your hand."

Kilik's body began to emit a startling amount of energy as Orvyn expanded her perception of the nature of Ki itself, as vast and prominent as Vescrutia was. Though she rests at the center of all things, she is not ALL things. Ki did not belong to just her domain but was the essence of the universe itself. Vescrutia was but one island in the vast ocean of the stars. Natural energy flows through the entirety of existence, its breath, its bones; Shinjustu is the art of using one's body to pull in that essence, not controlling it but directing it inwardly, the body a catalyst, not a container. She was emulating the planet itself as a mold.

With Orvyn's directive, Kilik removed the limiter of her perception; unintentionally, she had already set a cap on her abilities, not allowing herself to see the broader picture and each pixel. Her instincts as Nissagro programmed to hold the grove above else, unconcerned of the world around them, much like this, Kilik had only sought to attune herself to the flow of the planet, nothing of the moons nor sun above, the stars all of the intersecting lines and streams of life itself. Rise and fall, ebb and flow, push and pull; she began drawing in Ki with this insight.

"!!!"

Kilik reinforced her defenses to the point of nigh impregnability; her body was virtually impervious to her father's blows in this state, allowing her to become perfectly still despite the surging waves the backlash of his strikes created. Few could perform this feat, as shinjustu often required stillness to gather Ki, usually leaving the user vulnerable. But Kilik had spent every day since she first learned to do so amid maelstroms, storms, and waterfalls. In this instance, her scales, under the boon of her magic and this vaster understanding of shinjustu, provided her the defense to gather what she needed without much worry from outside forces weaker than them. Eventually, she would need to develop a less risky gamble, for she knew some held that kind of strength. But for now, it would serve her well. Despite her father's power, his training and conditioning could not catch up to hers while he was a child of the groves, a steward of the seas. As she was now, Kilik was not merely a daughter of the ocean.

But a dragon of the cosmos.

"Gyah!! What, what is this power?"

The sudden burst of vigor took him aback. Able to feel the constantly growing swells through the unseen. At that moment, Kilik's scales began oscillating around her, creating several tentacles of her own that deflected each of his attacks, responding instantly to his own Ki flow as she drew in the cosmic forces. Transcendence: within Kilik, a decisive shift was occurring; she was undergoing an internal metamorphosis, the boundaries of her soul released, a place where time and space ripple like waves radiating a manifold of colors. As she was now, Kilik felt she could accomplish anything; her spiritual presence became so vast that though they were all submerged in the massive scape of the Freshwaters seas when placed beside her current magic power, it was but a dew drop in scale. She was an entity that could inspire motion and shape the world around her.

"Within each of us exists a space where consciousness and self-reflection dwell. Known as many things, soul realm, dreamscape, My kind; Primordials, once called this place Ne; in the mortal tongue, Root. It is the skeleton of one's essence, the blueprint of dreams, desires, wants, aspirations, and the darkness we prohibit others from seeing. Dragon-kin, in ages long past, used our Kegen or "Authority" over our roots to paint our intentions upon the world around us; what your master calls "Wrymspeech" was merely our brush, a tool to guide that intent...remember this feeling, understand these movements...and repeat after me."

Kilik surrendered herself to Orvyn's pull and, in doing so, felt her cultivation of ki reach its peak, revealing Kilik's form embued with an array of colors brimming with life energy. Her father wished to see the truth in her declaration that she and the wave mother now moved on one accord; he was about to receive his wish. To see a world purified and whole, even if their mission takes an eternity, they would fight tooth and nail to see this world become the paradise it was meant to be! A brilliant light engulfed them all as Orveyn guided the sway of her and Kilik's unified roots, moving Kilik's body as if it was her own, shifting her into an odd stance.

"Severed Authority..."

Its mere utterance sent vast shockwaves through the realm of the unseen as her Root began to bleed out into the physical world.

"Immortal Sanctuary of the Endless Pure Sea"

The art of manifesting a "Severed Authority" was like creating a pocket dimension for one's root. If Authority is a tree, the Boundary is the roots of the tree holding it stable. A plane separates the user and their target from those not "invited" into the boundary. As the light faded, Kilik's Root was revealed.

[Kilik]

Before he knew it, the tide of battle had utterly shifted in Kilik's favor. As the blurring light faded and, along with it, the splintered feeling of distorted feelings, what he next excited was something so grand, so beautiful, his heart nearly gave out from the shock alone. A gorgeous horizon stretching far into eternity, embezzled with shimmering glimmers of light that seemed to dance upon the water's surface like crystals. They seemed to shift based on perspective, whether above the waters or beneath. Though he felt his hands move through the waves as always, his hair ruffled in the passing winds as the sunlight warmed his skin.

"Impossible..."

That's when it dawned on him; he saw this realm with his physical eyes, not his mind. He looked down at his hands; they both had been restored. As he realized what was happening, the water erupted into walls as tall as mountains, gelling into crystal. In the reflection of the porcelain, tides would be his face from his younger years, specifically, his prime. He touched his face, the color back in his hair, the brilliant azure gleam of his sapphire eyes, the lines in his face, the years of grief, torment, and stress all relieved from his body as if the hands of time remodeled his image back to the days of his youth. Overcome with emotion, his anger began to rise. Indeed, this was some nefarious trick; Nissagro weaponized illusions all the time; his daughter, the conniving little fish she was, must have cast a spell to confuse him.

"I assure you, Father...this is no trick of the mind nor finesse of light."

Though they were no longer in the material world, their traits of empathy did not subside. Kilik could feel his currents of concern and understood them as fluently as if they were spoken language. She was unsure how to frame it, but intuitively, she knew why her roots manifested in such a way. Her voice reverberated off the aqueous walls of crystalized ki as she appeared a meter or so away from standing on a raised tide. Her scales glitter with the sparkle of crystal, the shimmer of diamonds in the sun. It warmed her heart to see him this way, unmarred by time; she would have this fight end in no other way than to be able to crush him at his peak strength and ability.

"What is this place? What have you done to me?"

He was unsure whether to respond with anger or gratitude and was not entirely convinced this was not some plot or ploy. Yet as he stared at Kilik, their eyes locked solely on nothing but each other, he knew her words were truthful. Regardless of how it had happened, the clear-rot had been removed, and his former vitality had been restored.

"The Immortal Sanctuary of the Endless Pure Sea, here in this realm, fashioned from my resolve to decimate my foes in their pinnacle, returns those within its boundary to their prime. It removes all buffs, additives, and alternations save for those granted by Shinjustu. As the building block of all life, Ki is an origin. This also means any wounds sustained after that point are healed."

It was true; he felt more robust than ever; his strength, agility, and naten felt incredibly potent. To think that she had reached the point of power to perform something like this? He could finally see the truth in her words; everything she had shared until now was untrue. She had become a part of something much more significant yet remained grounded in why she had begun this journey. This was the result of that tenacity. She and the Wave-Bringer moved as one.

"This was how I looked when I first met your mother. God, how could her presence light up a room? She was stern, stubborn, and pensive but kind, affirming, never giving in despair. She couldn't stand people and yet was so beloved., never turning away a person in need. You said I knew nothing about why your mother risked her life....that's not true."

Kilik stared down at him while the sun oscillated behind her. The wave began to subside, eventually melting away in the waters around them.

"I knew Niyah better than anyone else. The nights we spent talking about our hopes and dreams for the grove, the vow we took to protect it to make it a safer place for you to grow in: her fears, her anger. Even after your powers awakened, we never stopped thinking of you...but when the landwalker occupied Tuscano Bay, the lives lost that day, the threat they represented to the forest, your mother's scars ran deep Kilik, her hatred of the surface world, what they did to her mother, Iridia...to Orvyrn...she could not hold it back any longer...to then see your eyes carry the same fury...it broke me. I could not bear to lose her twice..."

Kilik listened intently to his words, his emotion ebbing from him into the world around them, reverberating off the crystal waves and waters.

"But now I understand...it was not just the past she was trying to avenge, but also the future we dreamed of that she wished to protect. And here you've come, like a second coming of her will."

"I..am not mom. My path honors her, but it is mine. I will shepherd the will of all who gave their lives to the grove for those who were pillaged and poached. With Orvyn by my side and mother and grandmother's thoughts and dreams pushing me forward, I will see this world dawn anew!"

The walls of castled water crashed into one another, shattered into aqueous shards that glided down, becoming water-like once more.

"You are right; you have your duty to fulfill....as do I. We have a ritual to complete."

Valefar said as he took his stance once more. Once a bubbling geyser of pain and anger, his inner turmoil had now soothed into a mutinous overflow of ambition. He was simply in tune with himself, solid in his stance—of both Zorasu and in defense of Kilik's path. Regardless of their differing ideologies, the only thing that would determine this outcome was pure might. And though he could sense Kilik's surmounting spiritual essence coursing through every fiber of this realm, he would not be swayed from his path. This now is a battle of ordeals and the power to see dreams thrust to reality.

"Indeed...."

Kilik took her Zorasu stance as well. Her frame tingled with the bustling boon of her life energy glowing lustrously. Her fearsome draconis energy coursing through her. Here in this place, she could not, would not falter. She had to prove to her father once and for all that she was calling the shots about where her story would end, and this was but one chapter in a long line of those yet to be written.

"COME AT ME!"

[Kilik]

In a burst of speed, Kilik was off, spilling the waters in twain, creating a divisive wave that froze into crystal. The force behind even her movements caused the waves to become tidal in size. She went in for a Kick, one that, despite its impressive speed in his prime, the abbot knew full well he could deflect and counter it, yet when he went to do so upon touching Kilik, her form would crystallize and shatter before he could even process this occurrence, his face was met with a rigorous left kick that sent him flying across the realm shattering the crystal waves skipping across the surface like a stone tossed about.

Grabbing his bearings, he used his naten control to balance himself on the waters. Just as he did, Kilik appeared before him. He retaliated with a series of strikes that she vigorously deflected; some he missed on connecting entirely, paying for it dearly as Kilik retaliated with her blows. He was beginning to notice something, though; Kilik's power was progressively increasing while his own was starting to deteriorate.

"What manner of trickery are you up to, girl?"

He said as he began to catch his breath a bit. Such a thing would typically never have given him cause to sigh, but something was odd. Kilik paused, assaulting her gaze, never once wavering.

"This technique is known in the mortal tongue as Severed Authority, the art of manifesting one's inner space into the material world. A boundary is created to guide this; within that boundary, a set of rules governs that space. As one invited into my Authority, you are bound by these rules just as I am...an innate one being that any attack I launch in this space will connect without fail."

His eyes narrowed, his face becoming more serious. Kilik raised her finer. His eye twitched reflexively, and she smirked. But she did not attack.

"The 1st rule is Primal Restoration. My Authority neutralizes all buffs and transformations of those within its lines by returning a creature to the form it passed at its biological and spiritual pique. Subsequently, whatever wounds and damage they've sustained since then are also healed. "

He deduced this would likely only last while they were within this field of hers.

"Second rule, Primordial Predator. My parameters increase by 1 percent for each consecutive attack I land. The cap to this increase is relative to the maximum number of Authority points, which I guess you can call Authority points; I can hold them as the number I possess. Each charge represents 100 percent capacity...I can carry four, yet I used two in our battle earlier."

"You have two left., your power can increase to 200 percent of its current level.

He caught on fast.

"That only explains how you've been getting stronger...not why I've been growing weaker."

"That's due to the third rule. Dragonic Maxim imposes a disadvantage on my opponents. You will suffer a 1 percent decrease in your parameters for each attack you miss. Should you reach negative 100 by the time I reach my first 100, you will become "Primed." Susceptible to my finishing move..."

His fist clenched, and the stakes were high. Who knew a level of fighting existed like this? He would claim foul play, that he was at an obvious disadvantage. But the first rule, by default, grants an even playing field. It boiled down to pure skill, where she would be rewarded for each correct step and her opener penalized for their mistakes.

"Why bother explaining to me how it functions? You could have easily kept this in your back pocket and increased your advantage even more. Are you so certain of victory? Do you think so little of my ability?"

Kilik's smirk simmered into a dismissive scowl. Seeing her father doubt her despite how honest she had been about everything was dismaying. Even here, in the escape of her soul, he felt she was hiding her hand.

"To the contrary, I have done this in recognition of your prowess. The mightiest of our kind, our eldest living. Though explaining my design might seem to place me at a disadvantage, giving my enemy the possibility of making a comeback, my roots are centered on the fact that I will overrun and overpower anything you attempt to defy me with. I do not need to resort to these petty deceptions. Though taking the time to explain one's Authority strengthens it to a degree."

So she says it still sounded like a catch to him.

"The fourth and final rule: Critical Mass. If the difference between me and my target is 200 percent or greater, the attacks against them are considered what you might call super effective, solidifying death..."

Kilik once again took her stance, her eyes trained on him like a bird of prey. She could feel her Ki rising gradually. By her calculation, she landed five consecutive blows on him. So far, he had missed 6. Increase for her, decrease for him. She wondered how he would manage against her next wave of attacks, now armed with the rule of this game of theirs.

[Kilik]

Like a blazing mystic arrow, Kilik takes off, splitting the crystal waters with the brute force of her movements. She was upon him in the blink of an eye, unleashing a haymaker aimed straight for his jaw. The attack connected without fail, yet Valefar took it in stride despite its bone-shattering force, having reinforced his naten to increase his durability. He had to do whatever it took to create his opening in this place dominated by Kilik's whims. He attempted to grab her neck, and he nearly succeeded, but using her free hand, she deterred it and then sent her foot bombarding into his stomach, this time with enough to fracture every one of the bones in his torso. Again, the blow connected, and with it, he coughed a bit of blood. However, with his free hand, he could grab onto her leg; using his terrible physical power, he flung her like a stone, skipping across the water's surface, her body skittering across the porcelain waves of her soul space.

Using the momentum of his powerful throw to her advantage, she would plant a handstand and, shifting the flow of her momentum, would twist her body while compelling the water to propel her into the air as she did so it trailed with becoming a spiral of twisting waves. Valefar did not pursue her despite the potential opening. He was slightly bewildered by how fluid she moved and how seamlessly the ocean followed her commands. It was like watching a living wave. He...was proud.

Nevertheless, In the face of Kilik's vast and versatile artillery, he held his trump card, which no other living Nissagro knew. He could go after her, but under the rules of this space, whatever retaliation she used, especially as a master of Zorasu, would just be priming him for her to close the curtain at any point. But he knew his child; she liked to play with her food, and each attack he missed would result in power lost and, for her, something gained. That is why, even teaming with more life and energy than he's held in ages, he needed to still his mind and heart; she was a torrential maelstrom of might; he knew what to do.

When she reached the zenith of her ascension, she severed the spiraling waters without wasting a moment. As she did so, they coalesced around her hands and arms and crystallized, creating a pear of clawed crystal gauntlets. A magic glyph would manifest, scrying itself into the air; she would use it to shoot herself down to Valfer, blistering through the domain like an iridescent meteor. She went in for another blow, this time though she made sure it was one he could not simply muster his way through. Still, her father did not even wince, just stood there stoically, anticipating. She was weary of his collected nature, always plotting and calculating, but that wouldn't change that she needed to and would hit him.

Her blow would connect, ramming her fist into his gut with dangerous force, the like of which sent the water behind him to split. And yet, though her blow connected, she noticed something had changed. Her father's pose differed from any Zorua pose she had ever seen. The space between

"Divine Talent"

Her eyes widened as his narrowed; the space between her fist and his abdomen reverberated with an odd sensation, naten churning at his beckoning.

"Zorasu Manji!"

His naten soared to incredible heights as the overwhelming force she unleashed was turned back against her as a repelling counterforce that bombarded her with undeniable pressure. This aqueous retaliation slammed into her, sending her flying once more. Kilik coughed a spec of blood herself. Never had she seen Zorasu combined with naten to produce an effect like this.

"What...what kind of shit...divine Talent."

Her father wiped the blood from his lips. Grinning back at her.

"Zorasu turns an opponent's force against them. However, that is typically limited to physical attacks; what do you suppose it does to mystical force when naten is applied to it? Zorasu Manji, ethereal retaliation. It takes that damage, gives it shape with naten, magnifies it, and sends it back twice as deadly."

She did not fly too far, and she could catch her footing. But she felt his counter.

"Don't bore me now..."

He said, striking his pose once more. Kilik was about to fly out of anger but stopped herself. Knowing this is precisely what he wants. She needed to remain grounded; this was her realm, her Authority. So he could turn her force back on her, so what? This place was rooted in her belief that she would prove herself overwhelming to her foe. She would match his arrogance with her own.

"We shall see whose resolve shall crumble first beneath the force of the others."

Once more, she was off. As if she blinked through space, she was on his side, unleashing another attack. He deflected, and she grunted, which did not stop her follow-up attack. The pace of this exchange increased rapidly. Kilik would strike, and her father shouldered her force and returned with a strike embodied by it. Kilik would take it in stride and strike again. Each attack that landed increased her next one and made each of his counters inevitably more challenging to handle; however, Kilik would push her draconic form to its brink by unveiling an unyielding barrage of strikes.

"Yuzurenai Nami"

She roared in earnest the name of her sword style, though it was generally reserved for her blade, Vopalioan. She decided to forgo its usual utility and instead reflect on its philosophy, Piercing. Yuzurenai Nami, or "The Dance of Unyielding Waves," was created to shatter through defenses with focused and decisive strikes, crumbling an opening defined with a flux of raw poised power.

"BITING BILLOW!!!"

Suddenly, the trajectory and velocity of her strikes shifted. They became less wild and more soundly facilitated. He had few blind spots and fewer vulnerabilities, so if he did not leave himself open, she would have to bombard him with a force he could not handle, a battle of devastating attrition. Each of her strikes carried the intensity of a raging tide capable of capsizing anything in its way. Initially, these strikes did not phase him, but as their intensity increased with each blow, her power increased to the point where she reached 100% of her power, and the backlash of his strike visibly impacted her body. His blows were landing, having found nearly the perfect counter to her technique. But he soon began to realize what Kilik had known when she returned to the waters of her homeland.

That in terms of pure power, she was superior. Even now, under the primal invigoration of his prime condition, he could not outpace her. There was a litany of ways Kilik could have gone about this fight, ways that could've ended things at any moment should she have chosen to. But she picked this method to prove a point to her father and everyone else.

She was an Apex predator and bearer of the Djynn of Water, a scion of the seas. But most of all, she could handle herself and protect anyone who chose to have faith in her. This display, this entire journey, had become spiritual for her. For the first time, she felt totally in synch with her nature. She was a warrior of change, a living wave progression that would swallow this derelict system and its petty masters with B'halia at her backing.

As her power soared far beyond his, his mangled form eventually started to slug behind her. Her draconic ferocity knew no bounds as her might began to piece right through his counter techniques, leaving him open. As the two roared and fought briefly, Valefar's mind went the battlefield of battle back to the days of Kilik's youth. How she sat on his shoulders, how she played with his hair, the smile she had that could rival the brightest star. Visions of his lost love, Niyah, his wife, the three of them together smiling. Now, his little girl was a ferocious warrior, a deadly dragon.

"My troublemaker...my, how you've grown...Niyah...our little girl...isn't so little anymore."

He found a tear falling from his eyes, his body battered and buried beyond his breaking point, and he found himself unable to defend against her assault any longer. She kept going, devasting him with a seemingly infinite array of strikes reaching her; having unleashed over 200 mighty blows, critical mass had been achieved. She shifted her stance fluidly, appearing to the

"Critical Mass 200; Mystic Art!"

The entire realm vibrated with intensity. Her rage and searing ambition flowed like a turbulent tsunami of force surging through her. This next attack would end it all. Every ounce of the waters above and beneath them began to churn and swarm around her, performing a feat akin to bending an entire ocean; unable to resist, the abbot was swallowed by the monsoon of waves.

"Kilik...He must live..."

Orvyns voice called out to Kilik; she did not return her worry with a response. This mark needed to be left, and this statement was made clear. Should anything threaten the grieve, She would be there to defend it. Her ability to do so will never be questioned again!

"Do you trust me, Orvyn?"

Orvyns silence was as affirmative as any yes could ever be.

"IMMORTALIZED INDIGNATION!!"

At that moment, the incalculable spiritual pressure of her being crystalized the ocean, creating a pristine porcelain prison that trapped him within—like a caveman frozen in an ocean of ice, stopping all movement within the realm as if the time to had become crystal.

"The Ocean, Father, is a vast, magnificent existence, but like anything within this universe, it has many sides. She cries she nurtures, she rages, she destroys, she rejuvenates....she mourns...she loses...but..."

Beneath the waves was a looming abyss of black, a void with no end. Anything that was tossed into it would cease to be. She stood before the mural of her father encapsulated in time. Her eyes flared with mystic power, her form the only light source for what seemed like miles within her space. She could seal his fate with a mere flick of her wrist, plummeting him into eternal damnation. Her hands slowly reached out and touched his from the other side of the crystal womb, and as they did, her stern, god-like gazes became...softer. She let go, a deep sigh that allowed time to flow once more; in a flash of coral light, the crystal waters became liquid once more, unveiling a gorgeous sight before the abbot that filled his waiting heart of cold indifference with security and a newfound appreciation for the ocean than ever before.

" But she also dreams, cultures, protects and strikes back! She does not simply wait for the world to notice the need for change, for like the ever-shifting tides of the sea....she is, in essence, the very nature of change itself. To become more, to evolve...it is her boon, not her curse...."

He fell from the prison, Kilik holding him up, both of them beaten to a pulp, with him worse for wear than she. He stared at her with a look that harbored the many thoughts running through his mind. She had grown so much and come far; what would this new world she envision mean for Elvs? He...he wished to see it for himself.

"Gods be damned girl...loath you to admit it, but you are so much like you mother....fine....I yield."

The boundary faded, and her root was dismissed from the mortal plane. As it faded, she was back in front of the others, the no longer old man slouching over her shoulder.

[Kilik]

The light of her Shinjustu-saturated state did not fade immediately, casting a veil of light through the waters. Her squad and those of the grove who wished to witness the fray were gathered in droves. The silence was palpable; even the ever-shifting tides seemed still in the aftermath of this great clash. Izmodan's eyes were wide, quickly narrowing into a slight fury that subsided into a sordid smirk.

"Is that the captain?"

One of the Cyr inquired, his poking piercing the quietness.

" And who is that with her? Wait....is that the old man?"

"That's the abbot?!"

With a burst of speed, Izzy appeared at their side, laying eyes on the person before him; Kilik's aura began to dissipate, returning to her normal appearance. However, the Abbot did not; his form remained. Kilik's became just as surprised as Izzy's. Her magic...could do this? The more she learned about Orvyn, the deeper her well of questions became. Just what were the primordials truly? What role did they once play when they walked the planet those many years ago?

"Sir, are you alright?"

Kilik and Izzy's eyes met and stayed fixed on each other for a brief moment. It was like he witnessed the event within the boundary for himself and could tell that whatever happened wasn't only Kilik's duty but also that victory was hers. The abbot grew as his aching body was riddled with scarps and bruises, making it difficult for him to move around. However, noticing he was back in front of his people, he forced himself upright, placing his hand up to protest Izzmodan's concern. Kilik would leave him to his own devices. Izzy's gaze went to the abbot, who respected his refusal to help.

"Call it, Izmodan."

Understanding the weight of this decree, he went against his obstinance. His gaze reflected the meaning of the abbot's words: the fate of the groves was about to change forever. Would it be its destruction? Or something else entirely.

"The Victor of the rite of first blood, Kilik Iridia!"

The waters erupted in cheer from her squad, and they were impressed, not just because she managed to win but also because she did so without killing her target. It showed a certain kind of determination and tempered control that was admirable even to her platoon's more stubborn cutthroat members. Hethera made her way to Kilik's side with a smile of confidence and affirmation; somehow, she knew her captain would succeed. But there was something...different about Kilik. Her spiritual presence was more substantial...much more potent than before. As one connected to Shinjust since a youngling, Hethrea's senses and perceptions of the unseen were exact...and what she sensed from Kilik was almost alarming. She wondered just how much stronger her captain could become. What would the change she sought to bring about look like?

"You did it, Kilik; I don't think even I could have held back in that moment. To stand at the pinnacle of that amount of power...and snuff it out like that. Masterful. "

"No, we did it, Orvyn; I could never have done this without your guidance."

"How is it that my father's age remained changed...even though my Authiry is no longer rooted?"

"Perhaps your influence retained permanence because he did not die within the boundary?"

"We have many things to discuss, it seems..."

"After the Invasion, we shall, for now, enjoy this little corner of accomplishment and grace. There will be little room for it in the battles to come."

"Kilik...."

Her father's voice shattered her concentration on Orvyn. His blood-blue eyes blazed down on her with vigorous intensity. She turned to face him, and their gazes locked until he softened.

" As the victor, the course of the grove is yours to do so, the title of the abbot and the future of our people, yours to will."

She could sense their collective fear and apprehension. He handed her his spear; she pointed it gingerly toward him. At last, a listening ear, her stance had not shifted despite her growth. She could do anything right now: order his death, proclaim the authority of this domain, and set her rule to last for several millennia. But no.

Kilik did not desire to be a big fish in a small pond. Since returning to these waters, her only goal was to open that pond to the bigger picture.

"There was a time that I once sculpted these groves with the scales of our fallen alongside you. Nurturing it the same as you, the grove and its prestige has always been dear to me and, in truth, is at the core of all I have done thus far; even this invasion itself, this crusade, is one I fight to see our home cleansed of the rot that festers...."

She pointed the spear closer to him, and his eyes locked on it. She retracted it from him, though.

"I have no interest in becoming Abbot, nor will I forfeit your life: Abbott Valefar....father. For over a century, through sheer willpower alone, you have held and led our kind through the murkiest depths. You have given both blood and bone to uphold your loved ones, shepherding them towards greatness, survival, and proposition...I would see you able to do that for eons to come and for those who live in the groves to feed from the fruits of their labors till time immemorial. "

Kilik's sentiments were bare on her sleeves, finding their way into the hearts of everyone around her. The abbot stood up on his own, his eyes filled with emotion. His little girl, what a fine woman she had become.

"So I will ask again: Will you stand with me? Will you stand with B'halia and do what you can to help change the fate of this world and protect Vescrutia? Will you please the grove and seas of the Clear Rot?"

She held her hand out to him, her cherry-lit leer confidently laid on him. Valefar turned to Izzy and the many others gathered. No words were shared, but their emotions filled the sea. Many were still apprehensive but would not go against not only their law but the guidance of their leader. Some had come to every Kilik not only to see her powers on display but to know that she held might enough to return the ailing abbot to his prime form. A task they could only see as divine. What more could they become? Many began to wonder... Abbot sifted through these various notions and informed his following words. With a resident leer of his own, he spoke.

"Niyah, you should see her now; you were right."

"I, Abbott Valefar Iridia, pledge allegiance to B'halia that we may step into a Vescrutia that is healed and thriving."

He shook her hand firmly, and his grip returned in kind. His eyes softened as he tugged her close to him, hugging her.

"Know this, my daughter, more so than the grove or the planet itself; you are my greatest pride and my most valuable treasure. No matter how far you are, or what worl you venture off to...."

Kilik was utterly taken aback. She never imagined she'd be able to embrace him again. All the pent-up anxiety—whether or not he loved her anymore, was he disappointed, did he hate her? These were the thoughts she had to suppress to press on.

"The groves will forever be your home....and me and your mother will always love you."

Kilik's defense came crashing down as she returned his embrace. Hethra and others emotionally watched this powerful display of character, community, and family healing. That was what they were fighting for; the foundation of this war was to allow the elvs the safe space needed to build and grow, healing the eons of wounds dealt by human hands and those in league with them.

"Ma'am, we should report our success to the commander; they'll be eager to transport us to the next objective."

They let go of each other, with Valefar's hand still resting on her shoulders. Kilik acknowledged Hethra's advice as she calmed herself down, returning to her composed state.

"I'll...come back and visit soon id...I want to talk about mom."

His eyes shook a bit but quickly returned stern as he sighed.

"I'll be waiting..."

She motioned for her squad to get information, and promptly, they responded in tight uniforms.

"Before you go...I have something I wish to give you."

He signed a few Ava, causing the space before him to twist, creating a whirlpool-like portal. He reached in and took out a necklace. Within its crystal casing was a blue essence that flowed like water yet churned with the likeness of flame.

"I couldn't tell you what it is, but long ago, it belonged to your grandmother, Iridia. Her instruction was to give this to the next heir, who bore the same scales as her. Before she left, she gave this to me and showed me the magic to keep it hidden. She asked if Oryvn should ever return to her senses to give this to you."

Kilik would receive the necklace her mother and grandmother had gifted her. Coming into contact with it sent her a deep sensation of familiarity. Orvyn came to, aroused by this. Kilik begged her to halt her inquisition until after their objectives were complete. This excursion had already taken longer than expected, and they needed to move.

"I will treasure it, always. Until then...Abbot."

She prepared to leave back to the site for pick up, Izzy stepping forward before she did

"Fin-Kilik, be sure to return to us...alive."

She merely looked over her shoulder, her gaze slightly widened before she smirked and nodded affirmingly. He did the same before she and her company were off to the place where the actual fighting would begin—the first invasion point—Helidor.