Chương 96: Chapter 82 – First Elder

Rain hammered the area surrounding the Great Tree hard enough to churn the ash and mud beneath Cade's feet into thick gray sludge. Aquelion lay bound beneath dozens of constricting vines. The massive Viscount's obsidian scales gleamed slick beneath the downpour while water streamed from the jagged ridges along his back. Sections of his body still glowed faint aquamarine where Cade's flames had burned the corruption away, but deep violet still pulsed through the rest of his body.

The colors fought across him in uneven patches as Aquelion's true essence warred against the corruption beneath the rain. Cade inhaled sharply and tried to summon the white flames again. A weak flicker of pale fire escaped his mouth and vanished beneath the downpour. His channels felt nearly empty now. His [Cloak of Ash] drifted unevenly around his shoulders in ragged ribbons that struggled to maintain cohesion. Entire sections had begun dispersing into loose ash before sluggishly reforming around him.

He did not have enough essence left.

"First Elder Rowana!" Pearl shouted into the storm again. Thunder cascaded overhead as violet lightning split the sky. The flash illuminated the Great Tree for an instant— And suddenly something stood ten feet away from them. Pearl gasped. Before she could even fully process the sight of the newcomer, she bowed deeply at the waist.

"First Elder," Pearl breathed. Cade ignored her, his attention locked onto Aquelion. The Viscount had stopped thrashing. The massive gator lay unnaturally still beneath the vines now, his glowing eyes fixed entirely on the newcomer. Even the tension in his body seemed diminished. That alone sent a cold feeling crawling through him. Cade finally looked toward the First Elder. He immediately understood something was horribly wrong. Massive violet growths deformed the First Elder's once lithe form.

Bulbous masses of twisted flesh and root-like tissue bulged beneath her purple skin while branching protrusions jutted from her shoulders and spine like malformed briars. Some shifted visibly beneath the surface, writhing with slow independent movement that made Cade's stomach tighten. But none of that unsettled him as much as her eyes. Every frog Cade had met possessed horizontally slitted pupils. Rowana's eyes were wrong.

Thin vertical slits cut through glowing violet irises while her unblinking gaze remained fixed on him. They held none of the wet amphibian softness he expected from the frogs. Only cold, patient awareness watching him like something wearing the frog's skin. Then Cade looked at her through his [Essence Sight] and nearly recoiled. Pearl's life essence had resembled a lighthouse blazing in darkness, but if Pearl was a beacon in the night, Rowana was the sun.

Dense currents of green life essence roared through her body in quantities so vast Cade struggled to comprehend. The force of it almost hurt to look at directly. But tangled through that overwhelming vitality flowed thick veins of shrieking violet corruption. The First Elder was completely saturated. Corruption threaded through every part of her. Rowana slowly turned her gaze toward Pearl.

"Release the Viscount," she said. Her voice flowed low and smooth through the rain. Pearl, still bowed at the waist, immediately reached toward the vines binding Aquelion. Cade grabbed her wrist. Pearl startled and looked up at him in confusion.

"Look at her," Cade said sharply. Pearl hesitated. Then Cade grabbed the side of her head and physically turned her toward the First Elder.

"There's something wrong with her," he said.

"She's filled with corruption." Pearl froze. For the first time since Rowana appeared, she truly looked at the First Elder instead of simply bowing her head in submission. Cade activated his [Identify]. Rowana, Corrupted First Elder — Level?? Pearl's expression faltered.

"No…" she whispered.

"Yes," Cade said firmly.

"Whatever happened to Aquelion is happening to her too." Rowana simply watched them through the rain without reacting. Cade pointed toward the bound Viscount.

"We can still save him," he said.

"I know we can. I already burned some of it out before the rain started." His gaze shifted briefly toward the storm overhead. If he had more essence. If he could just get Aquelion out of the rain then the white flames would work again. They had to.

"We just need time," Cade continued.

"Don't release him." Pearl's uncertainty deepened visibly. The First Elder laughed softly. The sound sent unease crawling down Cade's spine.

"You are a fool," Rowana said.

"A child speaking of matters well beyond their reach." The violet growths beneath her skin shifted slowly as she spoke.

"You believe your flames cleanse him." Her glowing eyes settled onto Cade again.

"But all you are doing is wounding him." Multicolored lightning flickered overhead again.

"The thing you call corruption is not corruption at all," Rowana continued.

"It is truth." Rain hammered down even harder around them.

"It is the path beyond the cage of this realm. Beyond all realms. And you would burn that future away out of ignorance." Pearl's throat bobbed. Rain streamed down her face as she stared at the First Elder in stunned disbelief. Her vines still bound Aquelion tightly against the soaked earth, but Cade could feel hesitation creeping through the technique holding them together.

"Pearl," Cade said quietly without taking his eyes off Rowana.

"Whatever is responsible for the corruption in this realm… it's inside her too."

"No," Pearl whispered again, though this time the denial sounded weak.

"The First Elder could never—""The First Elder is covered in it, just look at her." Cade pointed directly toward the writhing violet growths twisting beneath Rowana's skin.

"They're the same as Aquelion's corruption. No, they're worse. At least he doesn't have any wriggling tumors covering him." Pearl's eyes flicked toward the moving masses. One of the growths along Rowana's shoulder slithered beneath the skin in a slow serpentine ripple. Rowana sighed softly. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Young minds cling so desperately to fear," she said.

"You see transformation and call it corruption because you cannot comprehend what waits beyond." Lightning flashed behind her silhouette and plants immediately burst from the mud around her feet. Dark reeds and flowering vines erupted upward in seconds, twisting through the torrential rain in dense clusters. Thick moss spread rapidly across the soaked ground while pale flowers bloomed open beneath the storm. Cade's stomach tightened as he witnessed the control in her technique.

The world around her reacted to her presence, to her will. She wasn't consciously using Lifebreathing, yet new life sprang up around her in seconds. Pearl took an uncertain half-step backward.

"First Elder…" she whispered. Rowana's glowing violet eyes settled onto Pearl's.

"Release him." The vines binding Aquelion loosened slightly. Cade grabbed Pearl's arm again.

"Don't." Pearl looked torn apart internally.

"That's the First Elder," she said quietly.

"She wanders the wastes, bringing life back to the desolate planes. She protects all life."

"No," Cade said firmly.

"She may have been that before but whatever this corruption is has twisted her now." Rowana's expression remained calm. Then she moved in a blur of motion. One instant she stood ten feet away. The next she was already behind them. Cade barely tracked the motion as Rowana leapt clean over both of them in one smooth arc and landed beside Aquelion without disturbing the mud beneath her feet. Pearl gasped. The First Elder extended one slender hand and every vine binding the Viscount withdrew instantly.

Pearl cried out softly and staggered backward as her technique unraveled beneath Rowana's will. Aquelion surged the moment the bindings vanished. The massive gator rose from the mud with a guttural hiss while rainwater streamed down his obsidian scales. Violet and aquamarine light warred for control deep within the seams of his armor-like hide as he lowered his enormous head beside Rowana. Completely obedient. The First Elder reached out and placed one finger against the center of Aquelion's forehead.

A violet burst of electricity arced between them. Thunder exploded across the battlefield. Aquelion convulsed violently and Cade's eyes widened as the aquamarine channels running along the Viscount's body dimmed and deep violet ran through them once more.

"No!" Pearl shouted. The last traces of aquamarine vanished beneath the corruption. Cade charged her immediately. The [Cloak of Ash] trailed raggedly behind him in thinning ribbons while he reached inward toward the rhizome. He had no essence left but that didn't matter. The rhizome could feed off of him. Pain tore through Cade's body and mind as it fed directly on his health, stamina, and mana. Dark wood exploded from his hand and twisted rapidly into a jagged spear.

He thrust toward Rowana's throat but the First Elder shifted aside with effortless grace. Cade's spear passed harmlessly through the falling rain. Mist exploded upward around Cade's legs as a thick vine burst from the mud beneath him. It twisted violently around his ankle and yanked sideways hard enough to rip his footing away completely. Cade slammed shoulder-first into the soaked ground. Aquelion seized the opportunity.

The massive gator lunged forward with jaws spread wide while his right foreclaw swept toward Cade's chest. Cade barely managed to crane his neck aside as rows of jagged teeth snapped shut less than an inch from his face. The claw still hit. The [Cloak of Ash] reacted instinctively. Ash surged toward the point of impact as it tried to harden, but Cade's channels were empty. Aquelion's claws tore straight through the failing cloak and raked across his ribs, shredding the skin beneath.

Pain exploded through his chest hard enough to blur his vision for an instant. Cade grit his teeth and scrambled backward through the mud before the Viscount could follow up. The vine still wrapped around his ankle stretched taut until it finally snapped apart beneath the force of his retreat. Rowana still had not moved. Rain cascaded over her body while vegetation continued spreading outward around the Great Tree.

"You see?" she asked calmly.

"You cling to destruction because it is all you understand." Violet lightning flickered behind her glowing eyes.

"But growth always consumes ruin in the end. Life always finds a way." Cade lunged again before Rowana could finish speaking. He drove the wooden spear forward in a thrust aimed directly at her chest while simultaneously activating [Prismatic Conduit]. The rhizome drank deeply from him. Pain surged through Cade's body as the rhizome converted his blood into an unstable charge. Prismatic light erupted along the spear's length in spiraling currents that illuminated the rain around him in shifting colors.

Rowana raised one hand and mist instantly appeared between them. Cade felt his strike veer off course. The spear pierced through the mist and missed Rowana entirely by nearly a foot. Then violet lightning crashed downward from the storm above. Cade barely twisted aside in time. The bolt slammed into the ground beside him hard enough to vaporize mud and ash in an explosive burst of steam. The shockwave hurled him sideways through the rain.

Cade hit the ground hard and rolled through sludge and tangled growth before forcing himself upright again. His spear was gone. Shattered in the blast.

"How did she do that?" he shouted. Pearl didn't answer. She stood several yards away with black mist swirling frantically around her body while she stared at Rowana in open horror.

"She's weaving all three Paths together," Pearl said finally.

"I've never seen anyone do this before." Another vine exploded upward near Cade. He leapt aside just before thick thorn-covered tendrils burst from the mud where he had stood. The battlefield itself had become an extension of Rowana's will. Plants spread everywhere. Massive roots twisted through the soaked earth while dense reeds climbed upward in thick clusters. More flowers bloomed and opened toward Cade as he moved, releasing drifting clouds of glowing spores into the rain.

Cade's [Essence Sight] flickered strangely as the dense life essence saturating the area distorted his perception. Everywhere he looked, green currents flowed through the battlefield itself. At the same time Cade felt the rain wash over him and warmth spread through his battered muscles. His ribs hurt less. The slashes from Aquelion's claws had already begun knitting back together. Realization flashed through his mind. The rain was healing him, of course, Pearl had called it the Rain of Renewal.

If he wanted any chance of landing a blow against the First Elder, he needed to take advantage of the healing rain and burn himself even harder. Cade bared his teeth. The rhizome fed aggressively on his health as he formed another weapon. A long jagged blade erupted from his palm while prismatic currents raced immediately through the wood. This time Cade did not hold back. He sprinted directly toward Rowana again but Aquelion intercepted him midway.

The corrupted Viscount lunged low through the mud while thick roots erupted beneath Cade's bare feet. There were too many attacks coming for him from too many angles so Cade abandoned defense entirely. The [Cloak of Ash] barely functioned anymore. Sections of it drifted apart continuously in the rain while what remained hung limply from his shoulders like soaked fabric. He drove straight through the danger. Roots lashed across Cade's legs while Aquelion's massive foreclaw swept toward him through the rain.

Cade twisted at the last second so the claws only raked across his side instead of crashing into him head-on. Pain exploded through his body but he ignored it. The rain would heal the damage soon enough. Cade was still several feet away when he realized the charge building inside the blade would destabilize before he reached Rowana. So he swung anyway. The wooden blade carved through the storm and prismatic lightning detonated from its edge in a screaming arc that tore directly toward the First Elder.

Rowana finally moved. She pivoted gracefully sideways while raising one slender hand toward the sky. Cade's eyes widened as the falling rain bent toward her palm. Streams of water coiled through the air in spiraling currents while violet lightning flowed through them like living veins before exploding outward in branching whips. The attacks collided. Prismatic lightning crashed into the violet discharge in a blinding explosion that shook the battlefield hard enough to rattle the ground beneath Cade's feet.

The shockwave hit an instant later, hurling Cade backward through the rain like a ragdoll. He hit the mud hard and skidded several feet before forcing himself upright again. Across the field of new growth, Rowana still stood exactly where she had been. Rain curved around the First Elder while violet lightning crawled through the streams of water surrounding her raised hand.

"How?" Cade demanded. Rowana looked almost disappointed.

"You force power outward through violence," she said calmly.

"You fail to understand the full truth. The power of growth. The power of guiding the world to your will instead of crudely forcing yourself upon it." Then she raised both hands and chirped out a high pitched note. The entire battlefield answered her call. Massive roots erupted upward across the clearing in spiraling walls. Black mist compressed into dense rotating currents while violet lightning crawled between the vegetation like living veins.

Pearl cried out as one of the roots slammed into her hard enough to launch her backward through the mud.

"Pearl!" Cade started toward her— Aquelion intercepted him again. The massive gator whipped sideways and his tail slammed into Cade hard enough to launch him through a cluster of thorn-covered growths. Jagged branches tore across Cade's body as he crashed through them and skidded through the mud beyond. The remaining trails of ash in his cloak finally lost cohesion and dispersed into drifting fragments that struggled to reform through the rain. Cade coughed hard as blood filled his mouth. He was losing.

Even with the healing rain, Rowana and Aquelion overwhelmed him completely. Pearl pushed herself upright several yards away while mist curled around her trembling body.

"Cade!" she shouted suddenly. Something in her voice made him turn immediately. Pearl stared off toward the distant horizon. Her eyes had widened.

"I feel desolation," she whispered. The words barely carried through the storm. Then Cade noticed the downpour began to falter. Gray streaks began mixing into the clear rain overhead. Ash. Beyond the Great Tree, an enormous wall of white churned across the horizon. The ash storm he had seen before had finally arrived. Thunder rolled overhead as ash mixed with the rain high above the battlefield. Gray slurry hissed through the air while steam rose where droplets struck drifting particulates.

Slowly, the torrential downpour began to weaken beneath the encroaching storm. Then white flames appeared beneath the Great Tree itself. Deep within the vast hollow formed by the colossal root-pillars, fire spread through the darkness in advancing lines. Rowana's newly grown vegetation blackened and collapsed wherever the flames touched. Thick roots recoiled from the spreading desolation while pale flowers withered into drifting ash.

Vorduun emerged first from beneath the Great Tree, his enormous form looming through the haze. Brahm followed beside him, gray shell glowing faintly beneath swirling ash. Then more shapes appeared through the haze. One by one, dozens of ash tortoises emerged from the hazy ash surrounding the Great Tree. The battlefield fell silent. Even Rowana stopped and stared as something even more vast than Vorduun emerged from the sea of ash and white fire beneath the skeletal canopy. The ash parted.

And the Ashen Emperor stepped onto the battlefield.