Stormblade 4 C60: Reverberations

60 - Reverberations

The God of Thunder watched from his world. Emotions swirled to the surface, one after another.

Fury, for one thing. That was good. It was a proper reaction for the Paragon of Stormsteel to have. He’d been threatened by name by his most powerful rival. That could not be allowed to stand. And worse, the Placid King had come within a hair’s breadth of succeeding, ascending, and setting Eugene’s own ascension back. Several times. His gambits with the Craftsman had exposed a chink in the God of Thunder’s armor. He’d have to fix it, and do it soon.

Pride, too. Kade Noelstra had met his expectations. No. Not met. Exceeded. He’d gained the power the God of Thunder had expected, and he’d done it faster than he’d ever thought possible. That kind of power…a part of Eugene was almost tempted to leave the kid alive. It’d be interesting to see how far Kade could get if he didn’t have to contend with any of the SS-Plus-Ranked monsters, and the God of Thunder was, if nothing else, someone who valued interesting situations. In that regard, curiosity bubbled to the surface as well.

But there was also pain.

The kid had been—was still—his most interesting pupil. To hear Kade say he no longer served him? That hurt. That hurt deeply. The kid was a maniac. To declare himself a new Power in the universe, and to join the ascension game at S-Rank? That was bold. Very bold. But it also threw away everything the God of Thunder had given him. That was too bold.

Not that it mattered. Eugene had very little left to teach the kid directly. At this point, his core was ready for harvesting. It was time to begin the hunting and the reaping. And then…ascension.

In that regard, the God of Thunder had come out of this more well-positioned than his rivals. The Crone wouldn’t directly resist his efforts, of course. But the Placid King? He’d only attempt to interfere more now that he’d experienced a setback.

If the God of Thunder wanted to ascend, now was the time.

But…

But.

He liked the kid. He was a maniac, but he was the most interesting disciple Eugene had had in a long time. It’d be a shame to end things this way—with a blustering declaration, and with silence as the only response.

No. No, the God of Thunder could do better. Eugene could do better.

◄▼►

The God of Thunder held himself back longer than I expected.

He waited until the portal collapsed. Until we walked out of the winding main tunnel of Carlsbad Caverns, the body of Bernard the Wall draped across Terrel’s shoulders. Until the helicopter punched through the whirling clouds of steam as the Craftsman’s barrier disintegrated and landed.

When the golden portal finally opened, I was on the ground, in Carlsbad Fortress.

I braced myself, the Storm’s Blade in my hand and my body in Thunderlord stance. I was ready for the God of Thunder’s assault. But nothing came out, save a tendril of lightning that almost seemed to beckon me to enter.

That was stupid. It was a trap. But I did it anyway.

I needed this confrontation.

And so did the God of Thunder.

“I’ve got to say, kid, I didn’t expect this move,” his voice echoed from the gigantic floating pillars and filled the entire portal world, but he wasn’t in his draconic form. Instead, he stood as a lightning knight, the same height as me. And he wasn’t wearing Dad’s features. “Joining the ascension game is usually a pretty quick way to die. You’re even more of a maniac than I thought.”

I sat down, legs crossed and facing my monstrous former mentor. He joined me. His lightning spear lay across his legs. The Storm’s Blade rested on my knee. The tension hung in the air.

“Aren’t you going to say something, Kade Noelstra? We can talk.”

Yes. Yes, we could, but what to say? I thought about it for a long time, and eventually, I found the answer. “You broke your promise, Eugene.”

“I did no such thing, Kade Noelstra! My intent in taking disciples has always been my own ascension. There’s never been any other reason to do it.” The God of Thunder sighed, and thunder rolled in the distance. “You need to understand, kid. At a certain point of power, just being in this universe is a curse. It’s just…it’s too small. There’s not enough energy in it—the grains of sand in the hourglass trickle too slowly, and they stop far too soon.”

“There’s a promise that exists between teachers and students. Between mentors and disciples. You betrayed that trust.”

“I was always honest with you, Kade Noelstra.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

The God of Thunder went silent. I watched the swirling red-and-blue sky behind him. His portal world was so much more…stark…than the Black Tower. So much more suited to him. Now that I was S-Rank, I could feel it. The massive floating towers weren’t there for decoration. They were, somehow, batteries. The sheer Mana stored in them was all but overwhelming, now that I was strong enough to feel it through the portal metal and Stormsteel shells.

He’d built this world with the intent to ascend. Every bit of it was built to let him do it. And every one of the floating spires was a monument to a disciple—or to an enemy. The God of Thunder lived with the reminders of every being he’d betrayed.

And there were hundreds of them.

“Through rage and through wrath, the storm fulfills its promises,” I said.

“That’s your Path, not mine, kid.”

It went quiet again. The God of Thunder almost seemed reluctant to say more, and I had no interest in adding anything further.

But those batteries… they stood out to me. The entire portal world did, now that I saw it for what it was. How much energy had the God of Thunder put into this? What could he have wrought if he hadn’t been obsessed with ascension? I didn’t feel the pressure he did, that sense of the universe being too small. Would I feel it at SS-rank? When would it hit me? And would I be able to resist it, or would ascension be the only way forward?

I couldn’t ascend. Everyone I’d made promises to was here, in this universe. Leaving wasn’t an option—I knew that much.

The God of Thunder stood. “I see, Kade Noelstra, that you don’t want to forgive me. Understandable. Truly. I didn’t want to forgive my master, either. No, you aren’t the first to turn from your assigned Path. I assure you, though, that the storm coming your way will be harsher and more brutal than any you’ve experienced before.”

“You forged your own Path. You deviated from someone else’s.” It hit me like a brick to the face, but it was so obvious. The only way a Path could be created was to reach S-Rank—the hard way. Eugene would have had to follow a Path to get there, deviating as he went. Which begged two questions.

First, what was Eugene’s deviation?

And second, what was the first Path?

“I did. I’ll admit, I’ve never ended a disciple’s time with me quite like this. I usually just eat them when they cease being useful—like Tallas—or when they grow strong enough to help me ascend. I could consume your core right now, of course.” He stopped, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “But…you’ve been the most interesting pupil I’ve had in millennia, and I’ll confess to being curious.”

“You get three days, Kade Noelstra. After that, I’ll be seeing you around—as a predator after prey.”

“Thanks,” I said dryly. “I feel so honored.”

“You should! I’ve never done it this way, and with the Placid King still around and kicking, it’s much more dangerous for all three of us. This will be interesting—very interesting. Don’t worry, kid, I’ll make a game out of it. Good luck.” The God of Thunder opened the portal and gestured to it.

I stepped toward it, but his hand came up, and I lifted my sword, ready for him to break his word.

“And one more thing. Your shadow mage? The one you core-bonded with? Feel free to bring her by to get her core patched up. I’m sure you’re just dying to restore her to power.”

The threat was obvious, and so was the implication. If I wanted to fix Ellen’s core, I’d need to find another way to do it. One more complication among all the others. One more promise I’d struggle to keep, and with three days or less to keep it.

“Goodbye, Kade Noelstra.”

“Goodbye, Eugene.”

Before either of us could say any more, I stepped through the portal and back to Earth.

◄▼►

When the helicopter finally landed in Phoenix, a silver sports car was waiting.

So were Jessie, Ellen, and Jeff.

I unbuckled and walked off the landing pad, strode past Councilwoman Myers as she spluttered something about a debriefing, and opened my arms to hug Jessie.

She punched me in the shoulder instead.

“What was that for?” I complained as I rubbed my arm dramatically. I’d barely felt the impact. I’d barely felt them in months; E-Rank was the last time my sister was able to do any damage, no matter how insignificant. But I still hammed it up without even thinking about it.

Jessie’s fist might have been powerless, but I was lucky her glare was, too—otherwise, I’d have been dead on the spot. “You come home covered in half-healed wounds, with coffins, as a war hero, and you come to me first? Kade, you’re an idiot.”

I blinked.

Ellen laughed. She got her arms around me and squeezed. It was shocking how weak she was. Then again, she was trying not to use her powers. Maybe that explained it. The S-Rank cores in my pocket felt like a three-thousand-pound weight. Neither was right. Tanat had taken the right core, and these wouldn’t serve as a flux to fix Ellen’s. One wasn’t a Paragon’s core, for one thing. For another, it was bright brass with strings of white shot through it, not shadow. And the other was the wrong type. I’d failed to keep my promise to her.

But she hugged me anyway. “Welcome back, Kade.”

“Thanks,” I said. “It’s good to be back.”

And I meant it. Working with the S-Rankers and fighting against the Placid King and the Craftsman had only reinforced what was important. These people were what mattered. These people, and growing strong enough to protect them.

I shook Jeff’s hand as Jessie made annoyed-sounding noises, then tried hugging her again. This time, she let me, and we all climbed into the car. As Deimos took over and the engine revved, we left the Governing Council’s most powerful representative behind, and I relaxed into my seat.

We’d won. The Carlsbad Portal had been cleared.

And, by most estimations, we’d gotten off light. Two S-Rankers were dead. Another dozen A and S-Rankers were wounded badly enough to be out of the fight for a few weeks of recovery, including the entire assault team besides me. That was, by most historical attempts at fortified S-Rank portal clears, an acceptable level of casualties. Add into it the Placid King’s presence and that this was the Carlsbad Portal, and yeah, Phoenix had been lucky.

Except…

“Angelo Lawrence and Bernard the Wall are both dead,” I said.

“Interesting. They’re probably going to keep it quiet for a day or two before making the announcements, but both the Roadrunners and the Coyotes are going to fall apart. We need to be ready for that. It’s going to cause waves with the other guilds.” Jessie said. She sounded frustrated. No, tired, in the strained way she got when she was faking it. I turned around in my seat and stared at her, eyebrow raised, but didn’t say anything. Eventually, she broke eye contact. “Yeah, yeah. I should have had the chair. It’s not a good day, and I’ve been faking—“

“You told me the cane was fine!” Ellen interrupted. “I’d never have let you put me in the chair if I’d—“

“You rode in her chair?” I asked. “She’s never let me ride in it.”

“Shut up,” Jessie said. “Ellen needed it. When you hit S-Rank, she got the feedback from it.”

“Oh.”

“It’s fine,” Ellen said quickly. She shot me a look—one that screamed that we’d be talking about it later, but not here. “Jeff found me, and Yasmin and Jessie got me back on my feet.”

I added it to my list of things to deal with in the next three days—a list of impossible tasks I’d do my best to complete.

First, figure out how to get Ellen back up and running.

Second, deal with whatever drama Jessie had gotten her nose into while I’d been gone—and there was definitely something.

And third, figure out how the God of Thunder had forged his portal world into a storage system for a core’s energy—and how the Crone and Placid King had done the same—and start doing the same with the Black Tower.

I had three days before Eugene started to hunt. Three days to get ready.

Three days to get strong enough to fight a God.