Chapter 1250: Realm Seal

"Give up, filthblood. Not even your divinity can stand against the Realm Seal," the Arbiter snarled, fending off Luke’s sword.

A Realm Seal? Never in my studies had I encountered a spell like this. It didn’t function like a regular spell, but more like the esoteric powers of divinity. The spiraling threads warped fate itself, isolating our small pocket from the rest of Enusia. If the dome closed, breaking through it wouldn’t be a matter of power, for it operated on a system beyond mortal magic. It would be like trying to put out a fire with a bucket of glowing embers.

My aura was just as helpless, perhaps more so. Fate mana seemed to feed it, accelerating its descent. What kind of being could have designed something like this?

"We have to leave!" I cried, urging Fable into a run.

"Too late! None can challenge the Divine and live! Your arrogance shall be your undoing!" the Arbiter cried.

He vanished, materializing directly in front of us. Fable’s claws slashed forward, but the Arbiter caught them on his shield.

He should have faltered. Fable was a ninth-level monster with no intention of holding back. Yet it was we who were knocked backward. I clung to Fable as we spun through the air, his claws digging into the ground as we landed. They ripped through the stone, carving deep trenches before we finally came to a stop.

Fable huffed in frustration, shaking dust from his fur. The attack hadn’t wounded him, but the golden light around the Arbiter had grown almost blinding, his shield humming with power.

Luke alighted beside us.

"It’s going to close," he said, glancing around. "He must have been holding back."

"No, it’s the Realm Seal. It’s giving him power. I think it comes from us."

Luke’s eyes narrowed. "That was their plan, then? Collect our strength as we fought, then use it to seal us. This looks similar to the trap they pulled on me and R’lissea above, so they should know it won’t hold forever. Whether by my sword or your magic, we’ll break out eventually."

He was probably right. Given enough time, I could unravel it. The seal was formed from reality itself, after all, and I’d spent countless hours learning to weave it.

"We don’t have eventually," I whispered, clenching my fists.

Luke’s tail went rigid, and he inhaled sharply.

"He must have known. No one else could have built this," I said.

"A final act of vengeance," Luke said softly. "Yet another reason to hate the gods."

I nodded, blinking back the tears. Across the chamber, Grace engaged the Arbiter alongside Gayron and R’lissea. She lunged with her spear, lightning exploding from its tip as Gayron swept in from the opposite side. The Arbiter met her strike with his shield, turning the spear aside before slashing toward Gayron. R’lissea’s vines snapped around his sword arm, pulling it off course, and Gayron slipped beneath the blade to unleash a torrent of fire against his chest.

The flames washed over the walls and ceiling. Yet when they cleared, the Arbiter was unharmed, the golden light around him drawing more mana from the formation beneath his feet.

"Can’t you open a rift and tear through it?" Luke asked.

"No time," I whispered.

My mind flew to Haven, but the seal caused too much interference. I couldn’t control my aura well enough to manifest the realm, or even establish a connection to it. Every attempt to reach outside the chamber only strengthened the barrier.

My aura couldn’t... my aura...

I had two auras.

I seized on the inspiration, calling my stars back. The seal’s descent accelerated, and I thrust out my hand, unleashing the frosty shadows within my soul. Oblivion spiraled out of me in a roiling wave that devoured mana, starlight, and fate. It sank into the seal, cutting through the weaves of the spell.

For a moment, the dome ground to a halt, its surface wavering uncertainly. But then the pressure increased. Oblivion didn’t destroy fate; it balanced it out. And now, I’d placed my aura, my very soul, upon the scales.

With my full strength committed to Oblivion, I had to endure the full weight of my fate.

I groaned, sinking into Fable’s fur as a pressure like a mountain settled over me. The remnants of What Once Was Shall Come Again trembled beneath the inheritance of Enusia, and I struggled to keep my magic steady.

"Hurry..." I moaned, gritting my teeth.

Luke glanced toward our companions, fighting with everything they had against the Arbiter. Korra was bleeding again, a fresh sword wound running along her arm, and Gayron was flagging, his mana wavering inconsistently.

"Together!" Verity called.

Korra lunged forward, her water magic weaving around the Arbiter’s legs while R’lissea’s vines rose from the shattered floor. Gayron followed with another blast of fire, forcing the angel to raise his shield. Grace seized the opening, flashing behind him with her spear poised to strike.

Her weapon pierced the golden light surrounding him, and the Arbiter twisted, tearing free of the vines as the formation pulsed. The wound closed almost instantly, and his sword swept backward in a blinding arc.

Grace caught it on her spear, but the impact sent her flying into the walls of the seal. Her cry was cut short as she struck the barrier and ricocheted off, her body twisting at an unnatural angle. She dropped to the ground, coughing blood, the momentum of her fall entirely absorbed by her own body. The glowing walls didn’t even tremble.

R’lissea’s magic lit the chamber as she hurried to heal her, and Korra and Gayron struggled back to their feet.

"Get out of here!" Korra shouted, glancing over her shoulder. "If we’re all trapped, then Xiv will..."

She trailed off, looking at me.

"Yeah, get going," Grace said, struggling to her feet. "We’ll find a way to break out ourselves."

I shook my head, struggling to protest. Only Luke could defeat the Arbiter, and even if the others somehow managed to kill him, once I was gone, the seal would close. They’d be trapped.

"Damn it all," Luke muttered. "Fable?"

The wolf growled softly, the motion vibrating through my body.

"We’ll protect them," Verity said, appearing beside us.

"Wait, Luke, Verity... please, no. We can’t—"

"Xiviyah, we don’t have a choice," Verity said. "We need to reach the World Shard. Leave this to us."

"But you’ll be trapped!"

"Then we’ll find a way out." She glanced toward the others. "We’re not helpless, you know."

Luke reached down and lifted me from Fable’s back. I struggled weakly, tasting blood as I broke into a fit of coughing.

"No! We can’t leave them!"

His jaw tightened, and he glanced toward the Arbiter. For a moment, I thought he might turn back.

"Trust them," he said quietly.

I clutched his robes, shaking my head, but he had already turned toward the seal.

"Forget the seal. Open a path for us."

Fable howled and launched himself at the Arbiter. The angel’s lips tugged into a smile.

"Think you can escape if you defeat me? Hah! Try it."

His expression turned to shock as Fable suddenly expanded, stars billowing outward as his body grew to fill the chamber. His shoulders rose toward the ceiling, dislodging loose stone and dust, and his paws struck the ground hard enough to break the marble.

Thousands of tons of pure silver wolf slammed into the Arbiter.

A tremendous shockwave rang out as Fable’s claws met his shield. The ground shattered beneath the angel’s feet, filling the chamber with shards of stone and debris. The formation flared brilliantly, pouring more power into his defenses, but this time, Fable wasn’t knocked back.

"Impossible! Just what are you?" the Arbiter cried, slashing upward with his sword.

Crimson blood rained as the blade penetrated Fable’s fur, but the wound was barely a prick to the immense wolf. Fable snarled and brought his other paw down, catching the Arbiter before he could regain his footing. The angel was driven into the shattered floor, his shield arm buckling beneath the pressure.

Korra and Gayron rushed forward, unleashing their remaining strength to keep him pinned, while R’lissea’s magic surged around Fable’s legs, reinforcing the ground beneath him. Grace struggled upright, her spear crackling as she prepared to join them.

"Now!" Luke cried.

I let out a choked sob, obeying his order. The strands of Oblivion retreated from the seal, coalescing into a black mass before us. The dome immediately resumed its descent, but I barely noticed. I focused upon the narrow section of fate between us and the passage beyond.

Luke streaked forward, carrying me in his arms, and I launched the gathered Oblivion ahead of us.

It struck the seal, and for a split second, reality itself darkened, fading from existence. The threads parted, leaving a narrow opening that flickered uncertainly beneath the pressure of the formation.

There was a flash of cold as we passed through it, and then we were on the other side. Behind us, the seal completed, and...vanished. Korra, Fable, everyone...even the arbiter, were gone.