AETHER BEASTS

"Attack!"

The first thing I saw when I exited the portal onto the last floor was a twin horn disciple charging at me, his fist encased in fire. Not far from him were at least three others who had locked onto my friends and were either charging at them or preparing techniques. Against any normal arcanists at their level, they might have stood a chance, but we'd discussed this possibility, and we were at the third level with not only denser cores but a far greater understanding of the arcane thanks to Zirani's teaching.

We let go of each other's hands and I smiled as dodged a flaming right hook and countered with a bark faulty to his chin, a spike piercing through his flesh and straight into his brain. It was a simple pattern that I'd used before and acted much like a piston. The spike would form and then punch out at a high velocity, easily punching through the skin and flesh of second-level arcanists whose aether manipulation was like that of a child's now that I knew what proper aether manipulation looked like due to Zirani's teachings.

By the time he slumped to the ground, the others had finished off their opponents, though Zirnai had kept her's alive, though what looked like an injection of some sort of liquid. A long green needle had formed and extended from her index finger and had pierced into the arcanist's neck, most likely injecting some sort of paralytic substance, at least that's what it seemed like form the way the arcanist was stood, frozen and unable to move, his eyes wide with terror,

Misty had decapitated her opponent, while Sandra's looked like a pincushion, several dark daggers sticking out of him. The fights hadn't even lasted ten seconds. These guys were definitely just the usual twin horn disciples and not like the elder whod been boosted by his great master, though that begged the question.

"Why the hell were they here?" I asked as I walked over to stand next to Zirani.

"To try and catch us offguards," Sandra answered.

"But if their great master knows about us and how strong we are, then why send people as weak as this." I frowned. "It doesn't make sense."

"We can ask him," Zirani said, her eyes locked onto the motionless arcanists. "I know you can talk, so don't try and play stupid. Why were you here?"

The twin horn arcanist, a middle-aged woman, looked terrified. "W-we were told to guard the gate and to kill anything that came through."

"Is that it?" Zirani questioned, her eyes growing cold. "If your lying then I suggest you stop now, or else your death will be quite slow and agonizing."

I knew she was telling the truth as well, and I didn't have much of a problem with it. All the arcanists we'd just killed had been wearing robes similar to Hayden's, rich and fine-looking. These had not been slaves or servants. They'd been proper disples, the people using the slaves and servants. Just like for Hayden, they'd get no mercy or sympathy from me.

"Well?" Misty prompted.

The twin horn arcanist opened her mouth but before she could utter anything, it snapped shut, and her flesh began to bubble, and send.

"What the…"

My words trailed off as her skin began to glow a sickly shade of yellow, and I glanced over to Zirani whose eyes were wide. A moment later the other corpses began to act simialry.

"Run!"

I suddenly sensed it, the large buildup of aether within the female arcanist, forming into a pattern, which I guessed did one thing. Explode.

I bloated away alongside the others, and just in time as the pattern formed and the girl detonated, a large wave of force spread in all directions, and I was flung off my feet as it hit me. I got a face full of sand, but luckily no more than that.

A human bomb really? The town horn really was willing to do anything to achieve their goals.

I spat out the sand, which looked far redder than any sand I'd ever seen, In fact, it was similar to the color of blood, just darker. I lifted my head and for the first got a proper look at the floor. At this point I was even shocked as I gazed out at the literal crimson desert that stretched out before me, dunes scatted around, blown about by the wind. In all honesty, it wasn't as odd as the others, though it looked far more sinister. The only thing I could notice was different was the color of the sand. There were no structures, or at least that's what I thought at first until I turned to my left and spotted a large tower in the distance, that looked similar to an aether tower, though smaller.

"They turned their own arcanists into bombs?" Sandra asked in disbelief as she brushed sand off her robes.

"Considering everything else, I don't things it's that surprising," Misty replied, brushing sand out of her hair.

"It was definitely him." Zirani turned her gaze to the distant tower. "That pattern was far beyond anything something from the plains could create and I've seen smiler patterns before."

"So he was trying to kill us with trick then?" I asked, confused. "Didn't you say he wanted me alive?"

"I doubt he thought it would kill us," Zirani replied. "And even if we'd been up close it wouldn't have. At most, we'd get a few broken bones. It was more likely that it was meant to weaken us or slow us down. He talked big when we spoke, but he knows if we get to his servants before they bring him back then he's essentially—"

"Screwed," Sandra finished, and Zirani nodded.

"Pretty much."

That made me feel a bit better, knowing that we wouldn't have to deal with this thing if we put a stop to the twin horns' ritual before they could bring him back? Or whatever they were trying to do. They hadn't clarified if it was a human or a beast or something else and it certainly could be. I hadn't even known about beasts like Zirnai or vampires a few months ago.

I turned to Zirani. "What's the plan, Should we just approach it head-on, or sneak."

She looked around and a sneer formed on her lips. "I'm not sure if this lost king planned it out, but do you think it's possible to sneak in here."

She waved a hand to the desert. "There are quite literally no shadowed areas, apart from the dunes, which are few and far between."

"We could wait till night," Sandra began but ZInrai curt her off.

"If there is a night?" Zirani replied. "And can we afford to wait that long? No, our only option is to approach head-on."

I sighed. "They're all going to be there you know, the remaining members of the twin horn."

Zirani walked over and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "And I'm positive we can handle it. The elder you fought had been enhanced greatly by his master, and many of them will no doubt be taking part in the ritual. All we need to do is cause enough chaos to disrupt it."

I tried to smile, but my concern must have shown, and Zirani must have been reading my thoughts as she gave me a look of understanding. "I know you don't like the thought of having to hand your body over to me again, but if need be you must be willing. What I did against the elder was to save your life and I will do it again even if you hate me for it. I will not let you die."

I shook my head. It wasn't that just that.

I knew what she was saying was right and that I shouldn't be feeling this way, but the way she'd so easily beaten the elder with my powers had left me feeling lesser, and wondering what was the point of me fighting if she could do it so much better.

A firm hand grasped my chin and ZIrnai tuned me to look into her furious eyes. "Don't you dare think like that, Aiden. You are not lesser, not in the slightest. I am four hundred years old, Aiden. I have said this before, and I will say it again. Stop comparing yourself to me in such a way. I am powerful, but you could be so much more. You have three other potential affinities to gain, and your growth and increases in power will surpass my own at the same time taking our core to new levels of power, our core, not mine, ours because the moment I agreed to bond with you it became ours, and just as you are mine, I am yours."

Her voice was full of fury, and I'd rarely seen her like this before, but her words struck true, and I lowered my head in shame.

She pulled my gaze back up to her own, her eyes softer this time. "We are in this together Aiden, not just me and you but them aswell"

Zirani let go of my face and marched up the others who'd been watching silently. "I know you two feel a similar way, and I hope you were listening to my words as well. I don't want any of you thinking like that and comparing yourselves to me. You've three have done so much in just a few months and come so far. Don't let your doubts or stupid and unfair comparisons devalue what you've done."

Both Sandra and Misty nodded, looking firmly chastised.

"Good, now we best be on our way, we've wasted enough time as it is." Zirnai turned to look out at the tower. "We can speak and plan on the way there, now come on!"

The aether beast ran down the dune we were on, and a moment later the rest of us followed. I felt better as I followed my bonded beast, like a weight had been taken off my chest. Zirani was correct. I needed to stop thinking such useless thoughts, especially when they did nothing but cause me grief.. I needed to focus on the now, and get ready to face whatever the twin horn had waiting for us.