Chapter 1248: Beneath the Throne

The grounds beneath the Divine Throne were a tangled maze of catacombs, chambers, and old, forgotten passages. The slave levels and the Dusk Chambers beneath them were relatively close to the surface, and we left those levels behind in a matter of minutes.

Even as we traveled deeper, periodic rumbles shook the earth. With the barrier fallen, the armies of the Fatesworn and Infernal Horde swept into the Divine Throne from all sides. I received periodic updates from Incinderus as they took one sector after the next, forcing the church defenders back step by bloody step. It wouldn’t be long before they reached the cathedrals at the center, or the library where Thron waited.

We pushed forward quickly, racing through darkened passages. I led with Earth Sense, using the spell I’d learned from Incinderus to navigate through the maze of corridors, stairwells, and rooms. It was mostly unoccupied, save for the occasional soldiers or servants fleeing the battle above.

At some point, I became aware we had left the vicinity of the Throne behind, and were now within the heart of the mountain range. It was here, in the great, curtain-like peaks that framed the ivory towers of Roann and the Divine Throne, that I had fought Ronin in the coColosseumIt was such a long time ago I had no real memory of traversing these halls, and yet, we needed to go deeper still.

"Damn it, where’s all the traps and monsters?" Korra muttered as we passed by a series of dust-choked storerooms. "They spent years fortifying this place, and couldn’t even give us a single good encounter before the boss room?"

"Are you sure you should be complaining? You barely survived the last one," Gayron said dryly.

She sniffed. "That freak got lucky. And R’lissea patched me up. I’m good to go!"

"I wouldn’t have gotten that far. You expended a lot of strength, and even if I heal your wounds, it’s hard on your body. You need to be careful," R’lissea said.

Verity appeared ahead of us and raised a hand. "Wait!"

We came to a stop, tense and ready.

"What is it?" Luke asked, folding his arms impatiently.

"Something up ahead. It caught on my Foresight and then disappeared," she said.

"Xiviyah?" Luke asked, glancing at me.

I let my aura flow out, combining it with my Earth Sense to get a picture of everything in a quarter-mile radius. Dozens of empty corridors and rooms, and then...nothing. The stars hit some sort of barrier and then flowed around it, revealing a bubble of darkness in the starlight. I pursed my lips, concentrating, and let Oblivion trace through the threads of fate. They slipped through the ward as if it wasn’t there, painting a picture of what lay inside.

I waved my hand, and the stars clustered together, forming an illusory scene. The passage widened into a chamber, where two beings stood wreathed in the Sun God’s light: a man and a woman.

They were beautiful, in gleaming golden armor, with pure white wings fluttering gently behind them. The man was tall and carried a gleaming sword and shield, while the woman had flowing hair, graceful curves, and a staff.

"Arbiters," Korra said with an appreciative whistle.

"Both ninth-level. And there’s something else about the room. Some kind of formation in the floor," I said, waving toward an intricate glowing circle that spanned the chamber. "I can’t tell what kind, but there’s no way it’s good for us."

"Can you dispel it?" Luke asked.

"I won’t know until I’ve had a chance to analyze it."

"Then we proceed carefully. If this vision’s an accurate judge of their strength, I’ll be able to match that one," Luke said, gesturing at the male.

"And have the rest of us gang up on a woman?" Korra asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "Honestly, Fable would be enough. The rest of you can watch Xiviyah, if you’d like."

Korra snorted. "Not a chance."

"I think we should all work together. We don’t want an extended confrontation, and if the battles get too fierce, well...we are underground," R’lissea said.

Luke hesitated, his tail twitching in irritation, but then he let out a breath. "You’re right. Xiviyah, you figure out what’s going on with the barrier. The Fate hero will guard you."

"And Borealis," I said, petting the Bird’s back. He ruffled his feathers and nuzzled my hand.

"Er, right. Gayron, you and Korra with me. Your fighting styles are a poor matchup for mages."

"I fight mages just fine," Korra said, folding her arms.

Gayron cuffed her shoulder. "Only because of Xiviyah’s magic. Just listen for once."

She sniffed but said nothing more.

"Storm Hero, you and Fable will take the mage. Blitz her quickly, before she gets a chance to cast any powerful magic."

"I’ll bury my spear in her gut before she has a chance to scream," Grace said darkly.

"And me?" R’lissea asked, clasping a hand to her chest.

"You remain with Xiviyah and provide support where needed. There’s more to this fight than meets the eye. Why else would they divide their forces here instead of making a united stand against us before the World Shard?"

The others nodded, murmuring their agreement.

"Xiviyah, how are your spells holding up? How long do we have until Celestial Grace wears off?" Luke asked.

I hesitated, thinking a moment, then shrugged. "An hour, maybe two, if we’re lucky. If we can’t end things before then, it’ll take some time to recast everything, and I’m not sure my soul can bear that right now. Not without some rest, first."

"If that even helps," R’lissea murmured, giving me a sad look.

I nodded, a lump in my throat. They said the first ninth-level spell a mage cast stuck with them, permanently influencing the direction of their growth and soul. What Once Was Shall Come Again had done just that, and even now, I hugged the last remnants of the spell closely. It threaded my soul with a binding thread not unlike the soul binder, catching it in a sort of stasis. That, combined with sustaining the entire weight of Haven in Enusia’s battlefields, was all that stood between my soul and the inheritance of Enusia. Time was not on my side.

I shook off the thought, turning my attention back to the passage ahead. Whatever happened, we had to reach the World Shard before my spells failed. I tightened my grip on the Final Star and nodded to Luke.

We advanced quickly, following the winding passage deeper into the mountain. The air grew thick with mana, and the walls gradually changed from rough-hewn stone to smooth white marble, threaded with veins of gold. I didn’t remember that from before, and gave it a passing glance. The veins seemed carved by mana, a physical manifestation of the spells and wards reinforcing the walls.

Ahead, a brilliant light spilled through an enormous archway, illuminating the passage. The two Arbiters stood exactly where I’d seen them, waiting in the center of the chamber. Neither seemed particularly surprised by our arrival. The man raised his shield, while the woman rested both hands upon her staff, the golden formation beneath their feet humming with power.

"Well, here we are," Korra muttered, rolling her shoulders. "Finally."

Luke stepped forward, his tail swaying lazily behind him. "You have no place in Enusia, arbiters. Leave, or be slaughtered."

"The World Shard is under our protection," the male ArArbitereplied, his voice calm and measured. "We cannot permit you to pass."

There were no more words. Luke would sooner cut off his arm than grant mercy to an arbiter, and they were here solely to defend the church. Dying meant nothing to them, thus there was no threat we could make that would avoid the fight. Not that our party wanted to.

A golden circle flared beneath the arArbiter’seet, and he raised his shield. I felt the female ArArbiter’sana surge in response, spreading through the formation in an intricate web of runes.

"Now!" Luke commanded.

Grace moved first, disappearing in a brilliant flash of lightning. Her spear struck the male ArArbiter’shield with a deafening crack, driving him back several steps. She spun off him, using the momentum to charge toward the mage, her primary quarry. Before the ArArbiter could recover, Gayron unleashed a roaring torrent of flame, forcing him to brace against the heat.

Korra followed close behind, her water mana slipping through the flames in slender threads. They curled around the ArArbiter’srmor, clinging to his joints and the gaps between his plates.

The female ArArbiteraised her staff, but Fable was already upon her. His teeth flashed, forcing her to abandon the spell and retreat behind a hastily summoned barrier. R’lissea raised her hands, and thick vines erupted from the floor, entangling their retreat and forcing them to waste time and focus ripping their limbs free.

And then Luke struck.

A wave of darkness crashed against the male Arbiter, swallowing the golden light around his shield. Curses swept into the gaps of Korra’s mana, eating at his divine strength. The impact hurled him backward, his armored feet carving deep trenches through the marble floor.

I stared, almost forgetting to breathe. Two ninth-level Arbiters, beings that would have terrified entire nations, and we’d driven them back in the opening exchange.

Verity hovered at my side, her eyes darting between the combatants as she used Foresight to warn me whenever the Arbiters tried to counterattack.

The battle was going remarkably well. Every attack flowed into the next, the others moving with a coordination I hadn’t known we had. They anticipated one another, covering weaknesses and exploiting openings before the Arbiters could recover. Perhaps all those hours spent in the Colosseum weren’t wasted, after all.

A smile crept across my face. We’d come so far, all of us. To think that we could stand against two ninth-level beings and press them so thoroughly...

But something bothered me.

The female ArArbiterad barely attempted to cast anything beyond defensive spells, and the male seemed content to absorb our attacks rather than retaliate. Their mana remained steady, and neither showed any sign of desperation.

I frowned, turning my attention toward the formation. I couldn’t forget my own purpose.

Its runes were still glowing, pulsing gently beneath the combatants. More importantly, despite the tremendous amount of mana being thrown about the chamber, the formation hadn’t wavered in the slightest.

No, that wasn’t quite right.

With every exchange, its light grew a little brighter.

I tightened my grip on Final Star, my earlier excitement fading as I watched another of Luke’s attacks drive the male Arbiter to one knee.

Something was very wrong, but from all appearances, the fight was going well. Maybe too well.