“Maybe we should find a new opponent for you,” Mercy allowed. “Are there any Archlords out here?”
As though summoned by her words, Ziel flew through the air, his gray cloak fluttering with the wake of his speed. A ring of green runes flashed in the air, stopping him, and he dropped in front of Yerin.
“I felt Stormcallers,” he said, and his eyes were unusually bright.
Yerin jerked a thumb in their direction. “Just missed ‘em. You can catch up.”
“They’re just Golds!” Mercy protested.
Ziel’s shoulders slumped. “Oh.”
Blackflame Emperor Naru Huan raised a hand in Yerin’s direction, and she returned it lazily. Then he flew off on wide emerald wings.
Jai Long had walked up to join Kelsa and his sister, and they watched the exchange together. For such a frightening display, it had been disturbingly casual.
He looked to his squad.
“I came to save you,” he said.
Kelsa nodded seriously. “Gratitude.”
Reigan Shen stalked out of the Nethergate, but not with as much triumph in his heart as he had imagined.
If he were in his lion form, his tail would be lashing. He had the Slumbering Wraith’s core binding tucked away in a sealed case, he’d come out with the unexpected bounty of Ozmanthus Arelius’ Soulsmith inheritance, and he was about to see the sunlight he had dreamed of for months.
But he had been driven out of his own den.
He would challenge it again soon, but all the time inside the labyrinth had weakened him greatly. Time was on his side, even if the Void Sage ended up taking over the labyrinth. Reigan would gather his strength, and then see how Lindon Arelius could stand up to a true Monarch.
The stone door hadn’t even closed behind him before the leaders of the cults appeared before him. The Emissaries of Redmoon Hall who had been guarding the door had fallen to their knees as he appeared, but he didn’t glance at them, only looking to the Herald and Sages who appeared behind them.
The Blood Sage, Silent Sage, and Storm Sage arrived first, followed soon after by the Herald of Abyssal Palace.
To them, he presented a sealed silver box. “I have succeeded,” he said gravely.
All their eyes lit up at once. As well they should. This binding was the mythical item that their idols had sought since time immemorial.
“The enhancement field is functioning at full capacity,” Red Faith reported. “However, with Subject One removed, the hunger aura will exceed our containment at any time. I recommend we hurry.”
“We should,” Reigan agreed. “I will begin the process. One of you stand guard here.”
All four cult leaders gave him a blank look.
“Why?” the Storm Sage asked. He wore his confusion so openly that Reigan wanted to claw his face off.
The masked Herald of Abyssal Palace placated him. “We will place our best sacred artists here.”
“No. Yourselves. Do it…” He caught himself, took a deep breath, and moderated his tone before these allies. “…because I have requested it of you.”
The Storm Sage shrugged both shoulders and sank to the ground, leaning his back against the door and whistled idly. He snatched up a flower and started pulling its petals off one by one.
Red Faith gnawed on one finger as he gazed on Reigan Shen, and as usual, Reigan couldn’t tell if the Sage was sizing him up for a betrayal or lapsing into drooling lunacy.
“Do you have a question, Red Faith?” Reigan Shen asked.
He was weakened badly after such a long stay in the labyrinth, and the Sage knew it better than anyone. But one advantage of being Reigan Shen is that no one else knew what cards you had to play.
Even when your hand was empty.
Reigan met the Sage’s eyes with complete calm, and eventually Red Faith pointed to the sky with a bleeding finger.
“As I said, it will be for the best if we hurry.”
Without waiting any further, Reigan Shen seized the wind aura—it was all but the last of his soulfire—and drifted into the air. He held the silver box aloft, and he projected his voice with Herald lungs. He didn’t trust the rest of his soulfire to carry his voice.
“I am the Emperor of the Rosegold continent, and I have returned in glory. I invite my peers to witness my triumph.”
The Eight-Man Empire appeared first, of course; Reigan wouldn’t be making a speech if his allies weren’t closer than his enemies. Some hovered in the air near him, some lounged on clouds, and some stayed on the ground.
But their presence made it clear that they would defend him when Malice and Northstrider drifted closer.