The Divine Discovery

After our reunion, we talked for most of the day about what I had missed. I listened as the triop detailed the traps they had prepared for the cosmic foot soldiers, impressed by the guerrilla tactics schemed up using their specialized abilities and the limited training I had put them through. But, unfortunately, based on their descriptions of the pale-skinned combatants they faced, it appeared that only some of their victims had been Fliant Sturann. While I hadn't been expecting their presence this early in the invasion, it appeared that the eldritch fascists had already brought in a platoon or two of Beseen. These subjugated beings, essentially mundane meatshields from other worlds that had already fallen to the Fliant onslaught, were brought in as reinforcements to the garrison. Not Fliant in nature, they were often the frontline force, used to weaken enemy lines ahead of the primary Fliant force.

Based on what they had informed me of from their flight from the gates, it seemed that at least one of the Fliant Komants travelled with the initial assault force. In comparison, the following patrols had only been Sturann and Beseen, but that had changed recently. Both Sharzin and Aesandoral appeared certain that the last two parties they encountered were once again led by a Komant, with a third of the remaining fighting force comprised of Sturann. This meant that the Garrison was getting tired of the triop’s traps and was beginning to send the more capable combatants out. But, well aware of how my story's version of this cosmic enemy functioned, it could also have meant that they were running low on expendable troopers.

"But we made sure to stay clear of that scary thing," Aesandoral reassured me. "The first time we ran from it, I couldn't land a single shot. So I thought it best to avoid it altogether."

"And it negated my spell," Rionriv added. "Like, how could it do that, Iz?"

“It was smart thinking to keep your distance,” I praised them, turning my attention to Rionriv. “Attacking a Komant head-on is always a bad idea. Like Phyllis's incantationless casting allows you to cast with no words, the highest ranks of the Fliant ranks can negate spells on sight alone.”

"What the hells? That's not fair! How can they do that? I want to learn to do that!"

"No way you can, it has to do with their connection to the chaotic energy at the edge of the cosmos. Born of the void, they have a different relationship with raw magic. Controlling the aether of the arcane is difficult for them. On the other hand, dismantling it is as easy to them as electricity is to you."

Rionriv pouted, resting her back against the stone floor. With a huff, she crossed her arms and closed her eyes, allowing her wildly swishing tail to inform me that she was unimpressed with my answer. So, with a smirk, I reached over and gripped the fluffy appendage.

"Eeep!" She suddenly opened her eyes, staring daggers in my direction. "Iz!"

"Hey, try not to worry too much about their magical countering. It does have limitations."

"Like?"

"Like the fact that they can't block anything they can't see," I responded, tapping the back of my head before pointing towards her arcane firearm. "And in the event you can't get behind them, they can only block so many magical effects at once."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that compact arcane cannon you got there can fire nine hundred arcane bolts per minute. That's fifteen per second. At that rate, it's less accurate and a bit more spray-and-pray, but not even a Komant can block them all. It's designed to be a real champion of the cosmic war. Well, next to the bullpup-ninety, but those are still locked up in Westerriton."

A sudden shift from Sharzin drew my attention to her small form standing on the other side of the fire. She quickly rushed around the cauldron, sliding to a stop beside me with a big smile and an unusual twinkle in her eye.

"Which reminds me!” She exclaimed, pointing to the purple flecks that glowed on the wall. “The purple, I know what it is.”

I cocked an eyebrow, eying the cute smile splitting her lips while trying to contain the excitement that took my heart. There was something about Sharzin when she was excited that made my heart skip a beat. Something that made me want to kiss her.

“Eherm—” I cleared my throat, looking between the triop members who all shared a curious glance. “Yeah, and? Come on, the suspense is killing me.”

“Not again,” Rionriv replied without missing a beat. “Try not to have a heart attack when she tells you, ‘kay? We've already saved your life more than enough this trip.”

"Oh, ha-ha." I replied, twisting my head to the side, to eye Rionriv closely. "No promises. Now, seriously, what's up?"

Shifting my gaze back to Sharzin, I waited for her to add more to her statement. As I did, I watched the proud smirk on her face transition to a devious grin as she reached into her bag, holding it in place as she began.

“The purple is just a result of infusing Fliant energy into the stone,” Sharzin finally said, withdrawing a luminant purple object from her bag and handing it over to me. “Like the energy of their weapons—the swords and crossbows. But this stone is not just any stone. Tahvinstead appears to be positioned atop one of those Celestinium deposits you spoke of.”

My heart began to race uncontrollably. Snatching the radiant object from the rogue's hands, I inspected the raw ore like a jeweller over a precious stone. So much energy had been channelled into the material that I could barely look directly at it, but I refused to turn away. Celestinium was the rarest material in the world, with only one known deposit remaining. Impossibly durable, magically conductive, surprisingly light, it was a material that could construct arcano-technology the likes of which this world rarely knew and weapons powerful enough to slay gods.

And if Sharzin was right, and this was Celestinium, this would make Tahvinstead the second and only available deposit currently in Esseria. With the other still Time-Locked behind Petal Highland’s ancient spell and not accessible for at least a few more years, the Tahvinstead vein could give rise to an entirely different world narrative. Its very existence could alter the future of my story—this reality.

This…no way this could—I never wrote…

In a state of disbelief, I asked Sharzin a series of confirming questions. Eventually, she extended the Phyllis Brand Barcode Scanner to me and allowed me to check for myself. As I did, Rionriv left her seat beside the fire, touching her hand to the stone wall opposite us. After a moment of concentration, the surrounding rock began to melt away, revealing a dense vein of raw metal with grey and gold flecks that glowed a vibrant fuchsia. Paired with the glow already radiating from my palm, this vein immediately painted the cavern in a purplish-pink glow bright enough to dim the orange of the fire.

Oh, my gods… I thought to myself in awe.

Standing, I approached the wall to investigate the material closely. Reverently touching it, even with my limited magical capabilities, I could feel the arcane energy that coursed through it. The raw metal was relatively soft to the touch, as though it wanted to break apart in my hand, but as I applied pressure, it refused to yield. My heart began to race even faster with every passing moment, as I slowly confirmed that the vein was indeed Celestinium.

But then something else flashed into my mind, and suddenly the placement of the Fusanze made sense. It was the same reason that the Fliants had positioned their last garrison on the outskirts of Westerriton. The invaders were charging the Celestinium of Tahvinstead with their twisted energy so that one day they could use it. But they didn't want to make weapons. Instead, their goal was much more sinister. Their goal was to open a grand portal to the edge of the cosmos.

Withdrawing a piece of charcoal from my bag, I did a rough calculation on the stone floor as my companions watched in confusion. Estimating the raw amount of Celestinium we had encountered on our way down, I tried to guess roughly how much of the ore may have been present. It was a simplified equation—with my anxiety-induced mathematical dyslexia regularly rearing its head—but with what we had seen lighting our way deeper underground, it was safe to assume that with the amount of Celestinium present, the Fliant invaders could open a twenty-five-kilometre-diameter portal. 

While a slapdash dimensional gate of that size wouldn't be able to last for longer than a few hours, it would be more than enough time to bring their doomsday fleet of Inquisitor Ships from the cosmic horizon to Esseria. And, to make it worse, based on the luminosity in the raw stone, the Celestinium was nearing its enrichment capacity.

A Fliant assault on Esseria at this stage of the world’s story would undoubtedly end it. I began to immediately panic, looking towards my companions with a wild stare. There would be no way for Esseria to defend itself without its most technologically advanced cities up and running at wartime production rates. Crap! That means there’s no time to call for reinforcements. We’re really in it now.

It was settled, we had no choice but to press forward. By the time we returned to the surface and reached Goodshore, the Fliant could have completed the necessary system adjustments. If we couldn't stop them in the next forty-eight hours, then the world likely wouldn't get another chance.

"We need to destroy the Fliant army," I spoke softly, looking to the ore and then my companions. "Today."

"What?" Rionriv gasped. "You need more rest! Aes too. You don't understand—"

"No, you don't understand!" I cried out, fear creeping into my voice. "Sorry, I-I—"

With a calming breath, I centred myself and explained to the triop everything that had just gone through my head. Then, after Rionriv and, surprisingly, Sharzin, went back over my numbers, they both nodded in agreement with my statement. Instantly, all three wore stoic looks that I could see through with ease. I read the triop's expressions as their nerves betrayed their strength in the form of twitching legs and a hidden tail. But they were brave, a fact that I had always known. At nineteen or twenty, they were about to stand against an alien vanguard for the sake of the world. A world with no idea that it balanced on a razor's edge of life and death at that very moment—that it stood on the very precipice of doomsday.

Withdrawing the map I had made a week ago, we went over our plans for the assault. Now, including the new information about the Beseen and the size of the proposed portal strategy, I updated the layout of the garrison. Afterall, a Fusanze and a Fusanütraken, which was a gateway-garrison, were functionally different Fliant beachheads. Touching on the strengths and weaknesses of Fliant Komants and discussing the way their strategies differed when including Beseen forces, we spent the remainder of our time awake preparing.

And, at the end of it, our plan was simple: kill all of them before they knew we had broken their lines.