Chapter 3: Impromptu Meeting

Is that! Casimir squinted his eyes. Through the jagged portal of broken glass and into the dimly lit control room, he swore he saw the faint shadow of a man.

Iker rose to his feet and shook the glass shards from his shoulders. “Casimir, Sully, stay on guard and retreat when you get the chance.”

Before Casimir could respond, an overwhelming surge of Aether burned his skin and a wave of nausea hit him like a truck, forcing him to double over.

“What attack was that?” Casimir asked as something warm trickled from his nose and stained the white tile floor red.

Next thing he knew, Sully pulled him to the ground and shouted, “Get down!”

An ear-piercing bang shook the room, followed by the sound of crumbling stone and twisting metal.

Casimir looked up and saw his uncle holding up an emanating blue Aether Shield. His eyes widened. Blue Blazes! The entire wall is blown to bits!

The one responsible for the destruction, stood with one hand outstretched. His curly, dark-brown, framed his ageless face, and rested on the mantle of his maroon cloak. Minor signs of battle damage in the form of thread pulls and dirt appeared on his black turtleneck and suit.

Casimir remained frozen in place when the man’s crimson eyes fell on him. Blast it, why did it have to be Sageman? Why did my dad have such rotten friends?

“Acursed blackguard! Your apprentice could have gotten caught up in that!” Iker snapped.

Sageman’s gaze left Casimir and shifted to Jett. “Then it would have been his punishment for being disobedient and still failing to get results, but you are right I did go tad overboard.”

Casimir rose to his feet with Sully, and snuck a glance over his shoulder. He spotted Jett shaking in his chair, ashened white, for just above his head was part of the control panel jutting out of the stone wall behind him.

“Anyway, pardon the intrusion, but you have something of mine.” Sageman’s hand moved like a blur and he disappeared.

A second later, Casimir sensed five finger tips from a hand enclosing around his neck, then something cut through the air behind him and he heard tiles smashing into pieces. He turned to see his uncle coming out of the follow through of a kick that created a 5ft deep fissure through the flooring and into the stone below. The rift continued all the way to the left interior wall.

Sageman dodged it by just a hair.

Casimir’s heart throbbed in his chest. That was a Shadowstep, but I could not even telegraph that.

Iker blitzed towards Sageman with an afterimage of his Aether trailing behind him. The two juggernauts collided, exchanging strikes that Casimir’s eyes failed to follow. But he could feel it like a thunderclap that rattled the beams of a house during a storm.

This is above my paygrade. I’m only getting in the way. A tap on his shoulder reminded him of Sully who remained by his side.

Subtly, Sully pointed in the direction of the demolished control room.

Casimir nodded and they bolted. Their boots struck the floor in the same rhythm of the car’s piston speeding down a highway, however they only made it a foot inside the room, when a familiar burning sensation sunk inside Casimir’s back.

Before Casimir could react, Sully collided into his left shoulder from the force of an Umbra Bolt that just missed vaporizing him in half. The bright purple light blinded Casimir and his vision went dark.

After a few seconds, his sight returned to him, and Casimir found himself laying on his back among the rubble. He looked over to Sully, who sat on his knees beside him, shaking the stars out of his eyes.

I need to get up. Casimir winced. Pain radiated from his muscles, but he ignored it and stumbled onto his feet.

His heart raced when he turned around and gazed down the 6ft wide hole that Sageman’s attack left. It penetrated through the dense walls of the Inquis’ headquarters with the ease of a finger through water tissue paper.

Holy hell, he made an Umbra Bolt that took out the simulation room! That almost could have been…

“Damn you!” Iker hissed.

Casimir’s head swiveled to his uncle, who deflected Sageman’s right hand with his wrist, while Sageman’s free hand pressed firmly against Iker’s chest.

Iker’s form flicked and disappeared.

Was that a Teleportation pattern? No– but it could not have been a Shadowstep. Impossible! Most Weavers die due to how much Aether it requires! Blood drained from Casimir’s face.

“Fleeing is no longer an option,” Sully whispered, drawing his short sword.

Casimir nodded, not taking his gaze off Sageman who had not yet acknowledged them, instead the Weaver remained still, looking at his left hand.

Sweat rolled down Casimir’s face. What can I do against that?

“Maybe another time, Iker,” Sageman muttered to himself, until he redirected his attention to Casimir with an amused smile. “It has been ages. I trust that my apprentice did not give you too much trouble.”

What is this feeling? Dread? Every inch of my body is screaming at me to run. Casimir fought to remain in place. “Wh-what do you want with me?”

“I’m here to fulfill my promise that I made to your father by returning your birthright.”

“I don’t want it!” Casimir snapped.

Sageman suppressed a chuckle. “Alright, I won’t give it to you, if you can prove to me that you don’t need it.”

Sageman’s Aether flared like acetone to an open flame, sending a searing pain deep inside Casimir’s nerves, and causing his knees to buckle.

Casimir gritted his teeth, drawing blood from biting the inside of his lip and digging into his scalp with his nails. Blast it, it’s too much! His Aether is endless! What was the point of all those years of training? Just to be subdued like this!

Right when Casimir’s vision began to blur, the oppressive snare of Sageman’s Aether around him loosen and the burning subsided to a manageable sting.

“Casimir, get up,” Sully instructed through clenched teeth.

Casimir rose and glanced over at Sully straining to hold back Sageman’s Aether. Though the veins bulging out of his reddened face look like they were about pop, Sully maintained his fierce glare.

Sully’s Aether Suppression.

“Thank you,” Casimir said, catching his breath.

“No problem, sorry for the wait.”

“Interesting,” Sageman remarked. “So even with that diminutive Aether heart of yours, you can do this much.”

“It takes more than an Aether heart to make a Weaver, otherwise any Aetherian could become one.”

Sageman nodded. “That is true for most cases. What use is genius to an ant, and destructive power given to an oaf?”

He tilted his head to the side and gave them a radiant smile. “Casimir, here is your chance. You better take it before your kinsman’s Aether heart gives out.”

“We’ll do this together. Let’s Mob the Falcon,” Sully commanded.

Casimir nodded, and they rushed Sageman, intending to flank him, Casimir to his right and Sully to his left. Synchronizing their attacks, Sully slashed his sword toward Sageman’s neck, while Casimir aimed a strike for his calf.

Sageman ducked Sully’s blow and slammed his foot into Casimir’s gut, causing him to skid away on his side.

Sully continued performing a series of fluid swipes, targeting Sageman’s vitals, all of them missing and slicing through air.

Sageman’s feet glided across the floor with the footwork of a master swordsman, and deflected Sully’s lunge by catching his wrist between his armpit. He followed up with a headbutt, spun round, and hurled Sully into Casimir who was about to grab him from behind.

Drat! Casimir caught Sully, and witnessed Sageman’s hands weave a pattern of interlocking glowing semi-circles. But he is slowing down and it looks like a Wander Breeze.

We can withstan—

A tropical storm level wind slammed into them like a train. Sully lost hold of his sword and they collided into the side wall.

The relentless gale had them pinned. Casimir’s lips pulled away exposing his teeth and he tried to shield his eyes from the torrent, but found it impossible.

I can’t—

After what seemed like an eternity, the wind let up and Casimir fell to the ground gasping for air. How did he turn a simple pattern into that?

Mercilessly, Sageman followed it with another pattern that materialized several Light Arrows and launched them their way.

Sully and Casimir dive out of their path, evading the arrows that smashed into the wall.

“And you two were doing so well, ” Sageman laughed, while slinging arrows at the pair.

They traverse their way through the barrage of arrows that intensified the closer they got to Sageman.

Maybe if I can obscure his vision.

Casimir hurled several smoke bombs, but Sageman intercepted them with an enclosed purple barrier, preventing the smoke from expanding. He then punished Casimir with another round of arrows, forcing him to block and bear the sting.

He knows Back Pocket! I thought the Shields kept that one themselves.

Sully attempted to create cover by weaving an Aether Shield, but it was swiftly smashed by a Light Arrow, and he was knocked back.

Casimir sprinted past Sully and fired three needles at Sageman, yet they were caught between Sageman’s fingers and he returned Casimir’s way.

Casimir managed to block them with his bracers, but was soon hit by a Light Arrow that caught him in the shoulder, nearly throwing him off-balance. He gritted his teeth and blocked another hit with his forearms. I guess I should count myself lucky that he switched to Novice Weaver Patterns, but they sure don’t feel like it.

Finally in range, Sully Shadowstepped to Sageman’s left and engaged with him again through a fury of jabs. He succeeded in stopping Sageman from weaving, and maneuvered him closer to Casimir.

Effortlessly, Sageman blocked one of Sully’s punches and moved to counter, but Casimir blocked it instead, allowing Sully to slightly hit Sageman in the chest and push him back.

Retaliating against Casimir, Sageman reared back for another Aether-infused gut kick, but it was caught by Sully. Sageman went for Sully’s neck, but a sweep kick from Casimir knocked him off his feet.

Once Sageman hit the floor, Sully and Casimir rushed to pin him in place. Casimir held down his wrist and sat on his torso, and Sully had his legs.

Instead of struggling, Sageman merely laughed. “Nice effort, but not enough.”

Suddenly, an intense Aetherian blast launched Casimir and Sully up in the air, and they plummeted back down onto the unforgiving tile floor.

Aether beared down on Casimir like a boulder, crushing all of his bones and pressing the breath of life out of him. Moving was impossible, the only thing he could do was groan out in pain.

“Grtsk.” Lead Foot…

Casimir’s heart shuddered when he heard Sageman’s footsteps echo across the tile floor towards him. When they stopped, he looked up to see Sageman kneeling over him with a self-satisfied smirk.

“Look at you, pinned to the floor like a crushed frog. I hope you now understand my point,” said Sageman.

Casimir furrowed his brow and averted his eyes in anger. “I-I don’t want it!”

“I bet the ant does not want to get stepped on, but it does not matter what you want.” Sageman reached down and patted him on the cheek. “You lost and have met my heel.”

Casimir clenched his teeth, seething with rage. Everything was for naught! What did I do to deserve this? I….

“Don’t give me that face. I’ll make sure that this will work in your favor. All I ask is that you continue to impress me,” Sageman said with a shrug. His red eyes then flashed and scanned his surroundings for something. When he found what he was looking for, his attention returned to Casimir.

“Well this was a fun detour, but we must depart. I sense that Iker has managed to find his way back onto the premises,” Sageman said while weaving a pattern that caused his hand to glow. Casimir blacked out, when it connected with his forehead.