Depthless Hunger

Even though theoretically she was safe now, Zae Zin Nim couldn't relax in the elven city. The time away from the Brightwind sect, just with her close allies, had made her forget how Cloudspire politics could be. They had killed three of the cultivators, but her father still had more Earth Souls. At some point he might even come himself.

All her studies about dual cultivation left her even more troubled by those thoughts. There was some young master in the Coiling Island sect who wanted to marry her without knowing a thing about her, likely having just seen a painting. Or it was possible that he hadn't even seen that, he just knew her level of cultivation and wanted to exploit it. All the strange things she struggled to think about were turned into horrors when she imagined herself being forcibly married.

Now she sat in an elven room, trying to convince herself it was safe. She was supposed to be cultivating, but she was just sitting with her legs crossed painfully tightly. There had been a pleasant release when she treated her wounds and took a moment to rest, but now the tension was rising again.

"You okay?" Omilaena appeared in the doorway, leaning against one of the walls casually. "You took a while to get started back there."

"I do not want to be taken back and imprisoned." Zae Zin Nim realized she was clenching her fingers against her knees. "That was a terrible battle. So many cultivators not that much weaker than us are dead now."

"That's why I say that gaining experience on Deadwaste isn't a waste. There's a difference between someone who has pumped themselves full of power and someone who earned it. Of course... neither does you much good against god abilities. Hard to comprehend, huh?"

"No, I do not feel so."

Omilaena perked up oddly. "What do you mean?"

"We saw something similar at the abyss," Zae Zin Nim said. "I didn't fully understand at the time, but the Frontier cultivators referred to something called phases. I believe the concept of superlative abilities is not unknown to them."

"Huh. If that's true, it would be the first time Deadwaste really had a leg up on something. Do you think we could get information from them?"

"Potentially. I believe they owe us for what we did in Krysal."

They lapsed into silence, but the interruption had helped Zae Zin Nim shift to new patterns of thinking. She had changed, even if she was still young in many ways. If she could continue to advance without the final hammer coming down, she would eventually be strong enough to stand up to her father.

Or stronger. When Zae Zin Nim next closed her eyes, she managed to cultivate.

.

..

.

Apparently even god abilities could be understood, but Omilaena wasn't quite arrogant enough to think that she could unravel all their secrets just yet. Instead, she was much more interested in what Anaelina had used at the end of the battle.

She had three unique components to her power: Silver Demon arts, a Corrupt Yin Core, and something called Devouring Yin. Silver Demons could drain power through sex and even other emotions, but that power generally manifested as raw speed and strength, not spiritual abilities, so that was unlikely to be the culprit. Omilaena had never heard of Devouring Yin and could only presume what it did based on the name.

Which left the Corrupt Yin Core, which was more interesting. Omilaena had gotten her books back from Zae Zin Nim, but when they'd fled the Great Library she had prioritized the most obscure texts. Information on abilities in Rosemount was more common and thus perversely more difficult for her to look up at the moment.

In the final moments, when Anaelina had kissed Kai, there had been a major shift in chakra. One assumed that it was a twisted use of yin energy, though Omilaena couldn't determine that for certain from a distance. What she knew was that Kai slowed down, as if overwhelmed by a mental technique.

Anaelina had moved first, but what she had intended to do was unclear. Maybe just tear out Kai's throat, but maybe try to manipulate him. Her first attempted action would actually have been an essential clue to the purpose of her technique, so it was almost unfortunate that Kai had recovered so quickly. He'd been disoriented for a moment, suggesting that he had internally experienced more time than had passed in the real world.

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Whatever it had been, it had done a number on Kai. Omilaena had only professional familiarity with sexual arts, but she could tell that it had sorely tested him. He didn't quite have the disposition to be a warrior monk, so he was vulnerable to abilities that played on those drives.

She was pretty sure that if she'd gone to him that night, she could have fucked the ability out of him and he would have been cured for good. But that would have ruined other things, so he had to suffer. In any case, by the time he woke up the next morning, it seemed to have passed.

Theoretically they never needed to return to the Commonwealth, but Zae Zin Nim wanted to visit the Kama Altar and Kai clearly felt he had unfinished business. If they had to go back, perhaps it would be for the best if Omilaena was the one to take on the Silver Demon.

So she made plans for that eventuality and wished that things could be different.

.

..

.

Sleep had done Kai good, but when he woke up he found that the pressure was still looming over everyone. The entire Elven Wilds waited on news from the Commonwealth, since it could mean all kinds of disaster or even war. Rumors poured in along with refugees and members of the embassy, which had not been directly attacked but was still leveled.

The real breakthrough came when the main delegation returned. It included the woman who had stood up to fight Matiavel and the Windlord - she was no longer projecting her glamour, but even at rest she looked flawlessly grandiose. Countless elves went to talk to her, including all the local elders, so Kai figured that he would wait for Ceryyn or someone else to tell him the news.

Ceryyn was back to being cheerful, even though she was undergoing healing for her injuries during the battle. Kai was considering going back to talk to her when elven guards suddenly approached him.

"The Elder wishes to see you. Please come with us."

Kai blinked and he almost said "Me?" but that would be stupid. The idea of standing on the same battlefield with the top warriors had already been about his limit, so being invited directly was a surprise. He followed the guards through the elven city, which he still didn't know well. When he arrived, he saw that Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena were already waiting in a sitting room - they didn't seem to know any better than he did, but their presence was reassuring.

"Please excuse me." The elven elder stepped into the room and gracefully settled into the largest chair opposite them. Even without her aura, up close she was stunning... or maybe he hadn't entirely gotten through Anaelina's technique yet.

"I'm afraid we haven't been introduced," Omilaena said.

"My name is Graveylin. I am a senior member of the Council of Elders." She inclined her head to them graciously and her aura retreated. He couldn't help but examine her soul.

Name: Elder Graveylin

Total Power: 1708

Soul Cultivation: Sky Glamour (958)

Physique Level: D-0 (200)

Soul Level: 10 (400)

Radiant Mantle (+150)

>

She definitely noticed and her eyes merely alighted on him briefly, as if amused, before she continued speaking. "I confess, when I read a report about Lady Ceryyn recruiting foreigners and then using them as spies, I believed it to be a misstep. However, your role had an out-sized influence on the battle. If not for your investigations, I would not have been present to take the field and things might have ended very differently."

"So it wasn't a trap for you?" Kai asked. Her presence was intoxicating, so he tried to focus on logistics.

"Indeed it was not. While the demons controlling the Commonwealth did have a significant focus on us, the conference was not intended as an assassination. According to our spies - ones much more deeply placed than you - the conference was actually intended in earnest by the demons in charge of the CTG, only to be sabotaged by other demonic factions. That is the weakness of demon sects, of course, always working against one another."

"What actually happened?" Zae Zin Nim asked abruptly. She didn't seem as cowed by the elven elder's presence. "Nobody will just give us answers."

"With the battle? Matiavel and the Windlord eventually concluded they couldn't kill one another without unacceptable risks, so I was able to talk them down." Graveylin put a hand to her throat slowly. "And I must confess, it was a great relief. The apex of elven glamours is an excellent tool in negotiations, but has its limitations in direct combat."

"So what will happen now?"

"We've established a tense ceasefire. The Commonwealth and the Dominion are making concessions on their border in order to reduce tensions, and thankfully this means pulling away from the Elven Wilds. It is in our best interest to play along, or even to play mediator between the warring sides. In doing so, we might be able to avoid or at least delay further aggression on our southern border."

"Why us?" Kai asked. "I'm glad we could help, but we're not important enough to be directly involved."

Graveylin cast him a smile that briefly made him feel like the center of the world. "Don't insult yourself so. You have been of great service to the Council of Elders and we intend to bestow boons upon you. But that is what I wanted to discuss... because there is one faction that considers you, or at least one of you, to be the most important piece of all this."

Zae Zin Nim shrank back as she understood. Kai wished that he could offer support and almost moved to touch her, but that probably wouldn't help. They all understood and said nothing, so Graveylin continued in more serious tones.

"We have been directly contacted by the Brightwind sect, demanding the extradition of one Zae Zin Nim. Now, given your service you are truly able to ask us for any boon, so if you want us to refuse, we will honor that request. It would, however, put a great deal of strain on our political capital. That was why I wanted to meet directly and ask in person."

It came down to that. In theory with a single request they could have the support of a powerful nation against Zae Zin Nim's father. Yet that would be asking a lot of one of their only allies at the moment when it would test them most. He had his opinions, but it wasn't his decision.

So he turned to Zae Zin Nim. She hesitated, looking to him, and he gave her an encouraging nod. After a deep breath, she answered.

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