Ruinous Return

Misty was scared. James was holding Khrelardia together for the time being but would soon enough have civil war to contend with if he didn't concede to some lesser nobility. The same went for Cecily in Valagonia. Trisk was stable as usual, but rumors had reached her that they were possibly seeking an audience with this Destroyer reborn. If it really was Lyn, then she had nothing to fear. She could rekindle their friendship and support her as an ally.

But if it wasn't Lyn…she was taking a huge risk revealing her presence. Misty stood next to the pillar on the tallest spire above her office. She had her hand on the pylon that was inscribed with her long-distance communication spell, but she was hesitant to use it for that reason. If I'm wrong, I paint a huge target on my back. But if I'm right…this could be one of the best decisions I make.

She began to channel her mana in her core, able to feel the colors swirling within. The Mage core could use any spell type and near-peerless efficacy – save for lava, which would consume her. But nothing else was off-limits. She would never have the capabilities in healing as Trisha, or internal spells as Kory, but she was the closest to an omnipotent being in this world as there could be.

And still, she was terrified. She released the mana, and it settled back in her as she hugged the pylon, replaying the message in her mind. "I returned to rule this world! No child will be abused! No person will go hungry! I will crush any who stand in my way!" Those weren't the words of a Destroyer hellbent on ruining the world. Nor were they the words reflective of the Demonic Dragon's actions in staying inside the Valley for two thousand years. They were a declaration of expansion.

Movement below her tower caught her attention. A flickering light arced up toward her. Reflexively, she activated the intricate inscription upon the tower, covering the whole magical academy in a translucent barrier that would repel any attack or spell. The object was an arrow, and it bounced off, before Volio appeared in its place. He hugged the barrier. "Hi…can you let me in?"

Misty sighed and deactivated the inscription, and Volio landed lightly on his feet. "What brings you here?" she asked as she shook off the impending dread of speaking to the Demonic Dragon – Destroyer – Lyn – whatever.

Volio pulled out a bundled-up cloth and handed it to her. "This is from Lyn."

Misty didn't move. She stood stock-still, frozen in place. She had been expecting this since James told her about it but had forgotten it until now as she was absorbed by her duties. She took the package with shaking hands, "Thanks," she muttered.

Volio nodded, "You…okay?"

Misty shook her head, "Are you staying?"

"Nope. I'm leaving right now. Mind if I use your divination inscription?" Misty just numbly nodded as he stepped over to the pillar and closed his eyes. She could see the minor trace of his consciousness leaving his body and rapidly shooting across the land, towards the Valley of the Volcano.

She pulled the package open and turned over the metal object. Oh, clever. You can keep an eye on me with this. She kept it wrapped up – she would not wear it until she confirmed Lyn had actually made it. She cracked open the inscribed seal on the letter and read the contents. The same words James had read off. But hers had something special at the bottom.

P.S. Misty, just for you…I know you'll find it hard to believe that I really am back, but I am back. If you don't believe it's really Lyn, then let me write this: 'The pen may be mightier than the sword, but my fucking art is going to be like an Abrams tank'.

Misty chuckled slightly at that last comment. It was something that she had come up with when sitting in their Social Studies class. They had just wrapped up a unit on Victorian England, and she had chosen that as the quote that her and Lyn would do a poster for…but she had to give it her own flavorful twist.

Fuck it. She walked over to the pylon and channeled her mana, focusing on Lyn. The Duskari she had seen in the dungeon. "Sup bitch," she said as casually as she could in English.

There was silence before there was a response. "Holy fuck, Misty?! How?!"

"See, this is what being the Mage hero and having ten years of building up inscriptions gets you." She felt her legs shaking. Lyn is alive! She was trembling not with fear anymore, but an ecstatic joy. Her long-lost friend was alive again. And she had no clue how. But…she didn't care.

"Give me a second, I need to tell my allies something." She went silent for a moment, and Misty felt giddy that her best friend was alive and back! "Okay, sorry, we were getting ready to go into a mountain to find a dungeon. Just had to tell them to stop." She laughed, and her laugh was enchanting and made Misty's legs quiver. She's got a much better voice now. Lyn continued after her laughter died down. "It's so fucking good to hear from you!"

"I know!" Misty replied, buzzing with excitement. "How long have you been back?"

"A month, maybe? I don't know. Hey, Gael- wait. Shit. One second, different language." Her voice left for a moment and came back, "Just over a month."

"Who you got with you?" Misty asked with genuine curiosity.

"Oh, my Bodyguard, Gael. And his twin sister, Vael." Her voice dropped to a whisper, "I'm banging them both!"

Misty chuckled, but her heart sank slightly. Lyn had slept around to deal with her trauma from fighting, seeing people die, and the like. But never with Misty, despite her desire for that type of relationship with her best friend. But Misty had never jumped at the opportunity. She had never told Lyn that's what she wanted. "That's…great!" she said, feigning excitement.

Lyn giggled, "Yeah. It's awesome. Anyways, the Valley of the Volcano is going to be the heart of my new empire, and Lynhold is the capital just outside of the dread fortress. That's like my citadel. I'm building an army; I've got a council-" she was talking rapidly and excitedly, which she only did around Misty.

"Why?"

"Hmm?"

Misty took a deep breath. "Why? You are the Destroyer. And the old Lyn I knew didn't want to conquer the world." She was filled with trepidation at the impending answer.

There was a deep sigh, "I…I had an epiphany. Two of them. I'm not Lyn the Scout, or Lyn your best friend from…forever. I'm Lyn the Destroyer. The same person at my core…but my goals have changed…You know the fucked-up home life I had."

Misty nodded, and felt her heart seize up when she mentioned she wasn't the same person. "Okay…"

"And I don't want anyone else to have that. Food insecurity, abuse from parents, inequality…none of that shit. I have the power to make a goddamn utopia, and I'm going to. I'm going to be a benevolent, egalitarian empress."

She never used words that complicated, Misty thought. Lyn was always rowdy, and her personal lexicon was half curse words. "Okay…" Her joy and enthusiasm at her best friend's return was quickly souring as she used fancy words she never used to, and her upfront declaration that she's not the same person anymore.

"Yeah, so, that. Did Volio get you the letter yet? And the package?"

Misty nodded and pulled out both, "Yes. I have them."

"You know what the inscription does. Well, there's a hidden function on yours. Read it in reverse."

Misty flipped it over and was shocked. A palindromic message? Elenthir was a difficult, tricky language, but certain words when read aloud backwards had wholly different meanings. She made this…her mastery of Elenthir was way better than I gave her credit for. Misty had trained Lyn in the language, and the Scout core enabled her to learn extremely quickly…but this type of inscription was on the highest order of difficulty.

Misty channeled her mana into the amulet, and a small window opened in space in front of her. She saw the light-blue eyes glowing with an inner fire, the skimpy armor, and the highly geometric pattern of the Duskari woman's skin from body enhancement glittered in the sunlight. "I'm looking at you now, I think. Wave or something."

The Duskari woman waved to her left. "See that?"

"Turn to your right." The Duskari woman did so. "You look different," Misty commented. And I'm not a fan.

"I don't know if it's because I fucked up my self-summon inscription, or if the Destroyer core is just better suited to the Duskari race…but it's really grown on me." She laughed her enchanting laugh once more. "Anyways…Are you coming to Lynhold?"

Misty pondered that. I could, was the first thought that went through her head. Right now, she was isolated in Vharthos with her students. Next to Trisk. Safe in neutral territory. Joining Lyn meant she would be allying herself with her friend against what may come – and that would probably be Khrelardia and Valagonia joining forces against her. But that's only if James and Cecily can get over their distaste for each other. "I have to think on it." That, and there was the now present, gnawing feeling that this Lyn wasn't her Lyn. The sales pitch might sound good on paper…but investing was a risk she wasn't ready to take yet.

"Alright. I get it. You've been building up a life for ten years, uprooting yourself to come here is a big choice. Well, you can check in on me whenever, just like I can check in on you now, visually at least."

"Mhmm," Misty looked sideways as movement caught her eyes. Volio had pulled his bow out and was stringing it. "What are you doing?" She asked him.

He pulled out a crystal arrow – one of only three that the heroes ever found, and pulled back, aiming high. He muttered a spell that she couldn't make out and let loose. He began tapping his foot as he looked at her. "Going to Lyn."

"Uhm…okay." Fucking waste of cross-world travel. Granted, Volio was the only one that could transport himself to an arrow's location, but still. It would have been a week and a half ride to the Valley of the Volcano's hidden entrance. She turned back to Lyn, "Watch out for an arrow coming your way."

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Lyn's face paled and she switched to Elenthir, knowing that only her, Misty, and Thomas spoke it fluently enough to converse in the dead tongue. "Fucking Volio. Is he coming?"

"Yeah, he used a crystal arrow."

"Damn, that's a waste. I'll talk to you later. If I'm not busy – you know, check the visual – then feel free to reach out and chat. Talk to you later."

"Bye, Lyn." Misty stopped channeling mana into the inscription on both the amulet and the pylon. She looked over to Volio and swapped back to English, "Thanks for delivering this."

He nodded, "Mhmm," and kept count with his foot.

"You on board with Lyn's whole plan? Rule the world, make it a better place?"

"Mhmm."

"…Okay." Misty left the roof and descended into her study. She opened the closet and crouched, holding her knees and rocking back and forth. Her best friend was gone. Lyn the Scout was replaced with Lyn the Destroyer. She didn't look the same, didn't sound the same. But that spoke volumes to Misty. Was I just friendly with her…because I liked how she looked? She shook her head and held it in her hands. No. We had a bond. We did everything together.

She cradled her head and repeated her mantra, over and over, to try and force herself back to rational thoughts. Safe space. Safe space. Safe space.

Her best friend was dead. By her own omission, she wasn't the same Lyn.

Safe space.

She was a Lyn. One that wanted a gentle world.

Safe space.

But it wasn't the same person.

Safe space.

Lyn cursed, "Gael, Vael, Volio is on his way." She looked up into the sky as the two Bodyguards stood up from the log they were sitting on.

"How?" Vael asked, also looking into the sky.

"The Archer hero has a unique spell only they can use. It lets them swap places with any projectile they fire. It takes a good chunk of mana." She used her newly enhanced eyes and, by squinting to focus, zoomed in her vision on the flickering shaft of crystal. "Get to the edges of the clearing," she ordered. The twins ran over under the cover of a tree, and Lyn tracked the arrow, ensuring she was standing a few feet from where it would land.

It thudded into the ground, and a few seconds later, Volio was standing where it had landed, his body just 'popping' into place. "Hi Lyn…" He smiled, "I delivered all of them."

Lyn nodded, "Good job." Volio was staring at her, and that's when she looked down. Right, I had the armor retracted for the breeze. She willed it to expand and cover her body in the full plate, and the protection from his pervy glare was more comforting than the warmth that suffused her from the armor itself. "We are on our way to a dungeon, want to come?"

Volio nodded, "Anything you want."

Lyn smiled and looked at Gael and Vael, switching to Arinol. "When we are in the dungeon, let him and I take the lead. You two hang back. I want to see how useful he is in combat. And make sure you speak only in Arinol."

Gael raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "Do you wish us to be ready to impale him?"

Lyn shook her head, "No." She swapped back to English and faced Volio, "Just follow me, and back me up." She pulled out Cataclysm in its sword form and channeled mana into the blade.

Volio smiled gently, but it was a…weird smile. It instantly gave Lyn a bad feeling. "I'm right behind you."

She walked to the entrance of the mountain, and remembered what she had discussed with Zack's lingering consciousness. Raising her hand, she drew on her mana. It rushed up her mana channel, as if begging for a release. "Ladatho aníra en-thalion / en-gwathren a galu / an rithia i aew an-uir / a tôgo na ai hero thalion gond / En garo na ered i garan." The mana surged through her palm and an enormous bolt of lightning coated in black, billowing shadows arced up into the heavens, piercing the skies above as the power crackled and impacted the magnetosphere above. An enormous crackling noise, much like a can being crushed inside a compactor with echoing resonance and thunderous depth, reverberated throughout the whole region.

"What did you do?" Volio asked with fear in his eyes.

"I signaled our friends. Thomas freed the hero cores from the statue of Aelor, and they are roaming the world. Only James or myself can consume them and free their consciousness…soul…whatever you want to call it. If I signal them, then they can follow us into the dungeon and replace the dungeon core."

Volio was struck silent and just stared at her with mouth agape. "Are…you eating our friends?"

"I'm setting them free," Lyn said. She rapidly incanted the spell to pull Zack's message just as she had done for Brad.

Volio stood there, deep in thought as he zoned out listening to the voice of their fallen classmate. After the message ended, he grinned and looked at Lyn with a strange gleam in his eyes. "You're not harvesting hero cores then. You're setting them free."

Lyn nodded, "That's right." She led the way inside a crevice in the mountain, using simple earth elementalism spells to widen the entrance so she didn't have to squeeze. If she was alone? She wouldn't have minded – just like with the prior dungeon she had cleared that required her to go caving. But she had to practice maintaining appearances in front of other people. And a Destroyer wouldn't squeeze between cracks in the walls. They would obliterate the mountain to get to what they wanted.

The crevice led to a deep, downward slope that was smooth and slick. Without climbing gear, a person wouldn't have any hope of getting back up if they slid down. Lyn slid down, keeping her footing as she rode the slope down fifty feet before it leveled out. In front of her was a rough cave with stalactites that were crusted with crystals. At the far end of the room was a doorway made of silver. Zooming in her vision, she read the label to herself. This door marks the dungeon of Durthul, Silversmith. Threat within – logistics and management. Reward – dungeon core and artifact.

Lyn groaned. Those were the most boring types of dungeons. Time would pass differently for those inside versus those outside. Only a minute would pass on the outside, but to those inside, a full week would pass. And she would have to deal with managing people. The last time she dealt with this type of dungeon-

Something slammed into her back, and she rolled forward with the blow before coming up in a crouch. She scanned the room but saw nothing. Volio came sliding down the passage and saw her stance. He nocked an arrow and pulled it back into a ready position, "What is it?" All trace of hesitation was gone from his voice as years of training kicked in.

Lyn shook her head, "I don't know," she muttered. "Something is in here." Gael and Vael came sliding down and Volio made some space for them. The twins had shields and spears at the ready, saw the two prepared combatants, and scanned the room as well.

Something stabbed down at Lyn from above, and she jumped back to avoid it. One of the crystal stalactites arced to follow her and hit her torso, the mana-charged tip piercing her armor and body enhancement. Fucking monster, Lyn thought as she coughed up blood. She brought Cataclysm down through the spike and severed it.

Prismatic, multi-colored blood seeped out of the freshly severed appendage, and she could see some fleshy interior as a screech echoed through the space. She used her other hand to tear out the spike, "Anor min / nartho hain I daeth nin." Her internal regeneration spell fixed her body, and the armor naturally repaired itself as well.

Volio switched out arrows and fired one up into the ceiling. Everyone had to shield their eyes as the shaft let off an illuminating glow that reflected off of the crystals. After a second, the glow settled around a form. Some type of crystalline scorpion that was clinging to the roof and had three stinger tails – now two thanks to Lyn's blow. The creature let out a hiss.

Vael and Gael both raised their hands and incanted a spell at the same time, "En ethiel an le / thalion min / tôgo hain govadhrim / en-aear." A light-blue glow surrounded both of them as a surge of water streamed out from their palms, impacting the creature with the force of a high-powered, crowd control cannon. It was not very effective, and the creature dropped from the ceiling, twisting in midair to land on skittering appendages. A pair of enormous pincers reached out, and the twins deftly dodged to the sides.

Volio jumped straight up and loosed several rapid-fire shots that were coated with his mana into the creature's crystalline shell. They sank several inches in, and the creature tried to slam its stinger into the still airborne Volio. He muttered something in Elenthir that Lyn didn't catch, and he appeared on the creature's carapace, hanging on for dear life as it began to spin around.

"Gothron i gwanno / min enni / na rem in edin nin: / na nin togwath, athano hain thron, gwelu, throneth, a nîn rath; / na nin inath, cirad nin hoth; / na nin inedhil, athano nin thîr a cirad nin; / na nin rhaw, hathol han uin del." Lyn rapidly spouted off the verses to her go-to internal spell, and her muscles bulged as she chopped down into the creature's rear, carving through the crystal-encrusted form and severing two of the back legs. The thing wheeled about and tried to grip her, but she ducked under the attempted grab.

Gael and Vael both ran in and harried the thing from different sides, their spear-tips covered in flowing mana. The imbued weapons were able to go past the crystalline exterior, but they could not strike too deeply, as the creature whirled around, forcing them to pull back or let their spears go.

Volio pulled out an arrow and incanted some verse before he stabbed it down into the creature. There was a screech, and the creature stilled, twitching, as it tried to stab down at Volio with the stingers. One of them hit the Archer hero, and he let out a cry of pain as it stabbed him through the shoulder. Muttering a spell, he vanished and appeared at an arrow that – until now – Lyn hadn't noticed. He put one against the wall there as an escape. Clever.

Where Volio had stabbed the creature, vines began to grow and spread – both inside the creature and outside of it – slowing it down. The twins dashed in and continued their harrying stabs from both sides, drawing the monster's ire. It gave Lyn the chance to coil her legs and jump up. She chopped through the remaining two stinger-tails, and the creature screeched as it whirled about, smacking her with a pincer that sent her exploding through several stalactites.

"Lyn!" Volio shouted in English. He tried to stand, but he collapsed to his knee as venom raced through his body.

Lyn shook off the impact. The cavern itself was not mana charged, so her Ironhide enhanced body would have suffered no damage. Coupled with her armor, she was completely uninjured. Standing up, she rushed at the creature one more time, taking advantage of its distraction to jam Cataclysm into its side. As it turned, she held the blade steady, and let the creature use its own weight to carve an enormous gash. The prismatic fluid cascaded out of the creature and it let out one more screech before collapsing.

Lyn shoved her hand into the creature, "En ethiel an le / gond en-thalion / tel na nin / a leithio nin na gadar le." The spell would call on the mana core of a slain creature – whether animal, person, or monster – and enable the user to consume it. It was forbidden and strictly taboo to do it to a person, but monsters were fair game. She felt the mana core surge into her palm, and she pulled her hand back.

The crystalline, translucent orb shimmered in her grip, and she consumed it. It traveled down her mana channel, and the Destroyer core feasted on it, pushing it down. Cataclysm exploded with a surge of razor-sharp crystals. Earth elementalism sub-type. Kind of a crappy mana core. It was unique, for sure, but not as versatile as she was hoping for. She already could have used crystal spells, since it fell underneath the broader umbrella of earth elementalism. What a fucking waste.

She turned to Volio. He was coated in a layer of sweat and was beet red as his body tried to fight off the venom coursing through him. "Gael, Vael, use that water spell to extract the venom," she told them in Arinol.

Gael looked down at Volio and then back to Lyn. "You wanted to be rid of him, yes? This is a way to do so without any guilt. He died fighting a monstrous foe. A warrior's death, sacrificing himself for the Destroyer he swore service to."

Lyn felt appalled. I can't just let him die! Was her first thought. And you're defying my orders? Was the second thought. But…it made sense. She disliked Volio. He was useful, yes…but she could consume his mana core and get his unique Archer hero spells herself. Send him on his way just like Zack. It felt…wrong to do that.

If she had the means to save Volio, she had to. He might be a pervert, but he was useful to her. She might be a Destroyer, but she would not just kill off the other heroes unless she had no other choice.

She looked at Vael, "What do you say?"

"I will follow your orders," she replied, kneeling next to Volio. "Are you sure you wish me to remove the venom?"

"Yes," Lyn stated. She stood up as Vael began the incantation to send water into Volio's body to encapsulate and withdraw the venom. She walked over to Gael and grabbed him by the shoulder, walking a slight distance away to the other side of the cavern. "I won't have you questioning my orders again," she muttered.

"Forgive me, my Lady," Gael replied. "I misunderstood your intent earlier."

Lyn sighed and patted his shoulder, "It's okay. I just want him to serve me, as you and Vael do. But not in my bed chamber." She looked over to Volio who was slowly rousing from his venom-induced stupor. "I want him to serve my cause. To be on my side. But if the only way to keep him on my side is to manipulate his feelings…I don't know if I can do that."

Gael frowned and did something Lyn did not expect at all. He stepped in, grabbed the back of Lyn's head, and kissed her.

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