Chrysalis

Pushing my mastery over the gravity well to its limits, I begin to rocket upwards toward the golden city. Enshrouded by luminous clouds, the city radiates a warm light, turning the mist into a halo. Somewhere beyond that obstruction, my sibling is waiting.

Frustration is boiling up inside me with every passing second. I just wish I understood what was happening. The thread of Will connecting me and the captive is thinning, growing weaker, and I have no idea why.

What the heck are they doing to her in there?! Why is she growing so weak? How is her Will being sapped?

The questions don't matter, I can push them aside. Who cares what they are doing in there, I'm going to save her anyway. The closer I get, the better I'm able to home in on her location. It's not easy to see clearly through the ever present cloud that hovers around the Atreum capital, but I'm starting to home in on the location. Unsurprisingly, I catch glimpses of a vast cathedral right where I believe the Will is flowing from.

Because of course I do.

Now that I have a location, I rocket forwards as fast as I can possibly fall, if you take my meaning. Turns out a creature with my mass can fall rather quickly.

Another flash of light blinds me as I assume Rathwyn and co teleport in again. I'd really like to know how they do that, but I don't have time for lessons right now. Nor do I have time to deal with their nonsense.

Once again, I dedicate a portion of my minds to fending off their attempts to restrain me, or form a mental bridge. However, one of them manages to bend and twist their mana in such a way that it eludes my grasp, zigging and zagging this way and that until finally it snags onto me and the bridge snaps into place.

Of course it was Rathwyn.

[It's an advanced technique, but that's beside the point. You have to stop. You're about to rush into the Golden City!]

Well… yes. Of course I am.

[What else would you expect me to do? A member of my family has been captured and might be dying down there. I'd rather not be violent, but you and the squad here need to get the heck out of my way.]

[These are fellow scholars from the Tower, not officials or soldiers, and we are trying to save you! The Golden City is one of the most protected places in all of Pangera. If you think you can get in there safely, then you are very wrong! You have to wait!]

[Of course they are going to try and stop me, I knew that going in.]

It simply doesn't matter. Brushing aside the mages, I home in on the Cathedral and orient myself towards it. If all goes well, I'll drop on that stupid building like an ant-shaped comet. Once I crash through the roof, I can start hunting around for the missing ant. Hopefully, not too many bystanders get caught up in the mess, but honestly, that's not my priority. I have to find and rescue the captive as quickly as I possibly can.

[If you get much closer, the city is going to defend itself!] Rathwyn warns me, his mental voice growing desperate.

I ignore him.

Let them defend themselves. The majority of them probably have no idea what is going on, all they see is a giant monster flying at them. It probably happens every now and again, some big bad monster from the Dungeon trying to get into the massive shiny city. I don't doubt they have a thousand ways to smite such creatures out of the sky, but it doesn't matter.

I'm still going.

All of my senses come alive the closer I get. The golden cloud blocks a lot of my sight, but my mana sense is as sharp and active as I can make it. Whatever is going to come my way, I'm as ready to deal with it as I can be.

In the back of my mind, I'm hoping I can just force my way through the initial barrage, get into the cathedral, and save my sibling before things get too out of hand. If I can show others that I was on a rescue mission, hopefully they won't go too crazy trying to hunt me down. Once I've saved this poor ant, everything can cool off, I just have to get there.

[WHAT IS THIS LITTLE CREATURE THAT DISTURBS MY SLUMBER?]

Ah nads.

When a powerful wave of thought rolls over me, my heart sinks deep in my thorax as I try to desperately find the source of the voice. I've only heard one mental communication that comes close to this, and that was Torrifex. I killed that guy, so hopefully I can deal with whatever this is as well.

Better yet, I hope they decide not to fight me at all. I'm not a threat to the city! I hope!

Where the heck is this monster?!

That's when I see it. The eye. At first, I think it's in the cloud, a giant monster, obstructed by the cloud which glows in the golden light emitted from the city. Then my perspective shifts, and I get a better sense of what I'm seeing.

The eye is made of the cloud.

Then the entire thing ripples. The entire ring of fluffy, golden cloud, ripples, draws in, and suddenly, it isn't a cloud at all. It's a long, coiled, dragon, staring at me with eyes of liquid gold, each the side of my entire head.

[A BOLD CREATURE, TO COME SO BRAZENLY INTO MY DOMAIN.]

A giant, clawed hand scrapes through the sky, reaching for me, and I start to wonder just how the heck I'm going to get past this stupid thing.

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