Leveling up the World

Chapter 880: Harp's Story - Futility

MEMORY FRAGMENT

Nymph Capital Sorgente, Nymphs Era

Clouds floated gently above the ocean, colored bright orange in the sunset. Most would find them calming, some might even call them beautiful, but Giaccia knew all too well that they were neither.

Now! she whispered, swimming up to the surface.

Dozens of nymph soldiers followed, combat splitting as they did. Hundreds of water tendrils shot up towards the sky. Moments later, they were sliced into pieces by just as many air currents originating from the clouds.

Scavengers, Giaccia thought. That was good. Anyone stronger would have come with battle mages.

What are their levels? Giaccia asked in her awakened realm, focusing on the largest of the clouds. If she managed to destroy that, the rest would be easy to follow.

Twenty-three, the echo of the groups mage replied. Twenty-three to thirty, mostly.

Third gaters? That was low, even for scavengers. That explained why they had tried to sneak their way through Icestream territory, as well as why they were so bad at it. Any children?

None that I can see. All of them are awakened.

That settled it. It was impossible for a group of awakened to gather by accident.

Hundreds of nymphs broke through the watery surface, attacking at the invaders. They were instantly met with a rain of air bolts and arrows.

Giaccia paid no notice, letting out three line strikes through the larger clouds. The thread of destruction sliced through, filling the air with a horrifying scream; a cloud creature had just died.

Focus on the clouds! Giaccia ordered. Thats

Wait! The mage echo shouted within her realm. Theres a thunder fury with them!

A web of lightning emerged, raining gown on the nymph attackers. Dozens were scorched on the spot, their bodies transforming into charred remains. Dozens more were wounded to the point of uselessness.

Magic symbols covered Giaccias skin. It wasnt her doing it, but the echo of the mage within her realm. Both knew that against such an enemy, it would hardly matter. Lightning was natural magic of a higher order. It would take a mage of over eighty to create a spell to adequately counter it, and right now, all mages of that caliber were tending to the royal heir.

More lightning strikes followed; far smaller than before, they targeted individual nymph groups. Finding themselves suddenly outmatched, most of the nymphs quickly fled back into the water. Giaccia didnt.

You mustnt stay up there, the mages echo insisted. They arent looking for a fight. If we let them through, they wont follow.

If we cant stop this group, we wont be able to stop the rest.

Running on the oceans surface, Giaccia sprinted in the direction of the lightning source. The remaining clouds made it difficult to see, but based on the bolts position, she got a good idea.

Line attacks rained up on her, slicing the ocean surface as if it were a wax. The furies who had been losing a moment ago, now took advantage of the situation, focusing on any enemy they could see. At the moment, that was less than a handful.

How many are we? Giaccia asked the mages echo.

On the surface? Five.

How good are the other three?

Having no time to waste on the lesser opponents, she performed a point attack in the direction of the cloud above her, then spun her wrist. A spiral of destruction formed, combining the devastating features of point and line attacks.

A fair distance away, an aether sphere appeared, surrounding another of the nymphs. It was good to know that the company mage had remained in the fight. Giaccia caught sight of another nymphan old veteran who had been dealing with skirmishers for decades. His magic was low, allowing him to only cover his skin with a thin layer of magic threads.

Pincer attack, the soldier gestured, forcing the water beneath his feet to rise like a tower launching him up in the sky. Half a dozen water copies followed.

Giaccia immediately did the same.

Where are you? She split into three instances, searching for the thunder fury.

Droplets of water shot out in all directions. Even if the fury was using something to become invisible, the spray of water would reveal it.

Several new bolts of lightning gained form, targeting both attackers. Half of the veterans water copies were obliterated.

Another bolt flew by Giaccias, though it wasnt remotely as threatening. The enemys aim didnt seem to be all that good at close distances.

If we had captured the thunder fury alive, maybe we could have asked him. The mage quickly caught the warning glance coming from Giaccia. Maybe the scavengers would know. Well just ask them.

Princess Giaccia! a servants echo said from her realm. You must return to the capital!

It had been Giaccias idea to invite the echoes of a few trusted servants into her realm. That way, she could remain up to date with what was going on without having to be there. Up till now shed mostly heard useless gossipher uncles inspirations to inherit the throne, her brother getting worse or better, depending on the daybut never anything spectacularly urgent. This time, it was different; she could hear the panic in the echos voice.

What happened? Giaccia asked.

Your sister. She went to the awakening temple and

Did father force her? Giaccia interrupted.

It had been years since Tiallias last awakening attempt. The last ones had been exceptionally taxing, sapping all her strength, though still without result. For that reason, it was decided that no further attempts would be made.

No, princess. She went there on her own and has been unconscious ever since.

Unconscious?! Fear and anger flashed in Giaccias eyes.

Without another world, she turned to the mage, but he was already ahead of her. Several complex spell patterns had appeared in the water beneath them, forming a portal outline.

Tell me whats happened, he said, continuing with the spell. Ill take care of things here.

Giaccia didnt nod, her attention entirely focused on the forming portal. Once it was complete, she leaped in. Purple exploded around her, as if shed splashed into a pool of aether. When it cleared, moments later, she was back in the Galateas square within the capital. A gigantic statue of the Purple Moon stared down at her, made entirely of Moonstone. Any mage attuned with it could instantly create a portal to there; if Giaccia had an adequate magic level, she could as well. That wasnt her concern right now. Dashing through the square, she rushed to the awakening temple.

A small crowd had already gathered by the time she had arrived. Hundreds of nymphs of various ages were there, eager to find out what was going on. The whispers in the air spoke of a member of the royal family dying. Most speculated that it was Prince Astrea. Others claimed it to have been Princess Tiallia or even Princess Giaccia herself.

Using her awakening skills to weave through the crowd, Giaccia reached the cordon of guards at the entrance.

Move aside, she said with the authority of a royal.

Feeling the weight of her presence, the soldiers body instantly moved to the side, before his conscious mind could even register what had happened.

Pushing past, Giaccia rushed into the temple.

A long corridor continued for a hundred feet, splitting into three. Each section had its own awakening altar. Following the trail of guards, it was clear which one Giaccia had to follow.

You cant go there, a nymph dressed in the gold and purple attire of a royal mage said.

Giaccia ignored him, rushing through the people like a needle through cloth.

Tia! Giaccia shouted as she entered the altar room.

Three people were present there: two royal mages and her sister lying on the floor. To her partial relief, her sister appeared to be breathing.

What happened? Giaccia went to the unconscious princess. Who allowed this?

She came here herself, highness, one of the mages said, his voice dripping with annoyance. She convinced her guards that she just wanted to pray for her brothers health.

You silly girl!

Tiallia knew better than anyone else the state of the prince. Bishops from the Order of the Seven Moons had spent years praying for the same, with no result. The only reason she would come here was to do something stupid such as this. The nymph saw herself as a burden, so she must have forced herself to make one more attempt at awakening.

Tia Giaccia put her hand on her sisters cheek. Why did you do this? You know you cant fight fate.

When the Moons decided something, nothing in the world could change their mind. After what the Star and the copyettes had attempted, there were many who didnt blame them.

Will she live? Giaccia looked at the nearest mage.

Shes breathing, he replied. As far as I can tell, shes healthy. When dealing with Moon matters, one can never be

Suddenly, Tiallia opened her eyes. She sat up, looking around the room. Second felt like hours. No one had the mental capacity to react to what had happened, staring at her as if she were out of this world.

Tia? Giaccia asked. You awakened?

Yes, the other replied, looking Giaccia straight in the eyes, seeking for answers there. Yes, I awakened.