A Summoner's Journey
Book II, Chapter 1: The Flames of Conquest
Team for this chapter: Black Knight, Amelia, Ephraim and Arvis
Ever since the defeat of Bruno in the World of Radiance, activity all over Zenith has increased tenfold. Embla was back to invading worlds and we returned to liberate them. Tempests popped up all over the place and I had to send multiple teams of heroes on their own to take it out. Some bestowed rewards and others were too small to even pose a threat to the world. One such Tempest appeared in the World of Radiance and I joined in on the expedition, curious as to what the world might offer to the Order. The Dauntless Crimeans summoning banner that came after our battle with Bruno reaped many fine fights like Nephenee and Ephraim, both powerful lancers. And the Tempest gave us someone even better.
"Black Knight and Amelia, to the left! There are still some stragglers left!" I commanded, sending the duo of knights to clean up some remaining enemy soldiers. Ike and Soren protested fervently against having the Black Knight in our army, but he was proving to be a masterful fighter like he has shown in the World of Radiance. He was unusually fast for a knight like Amelia was and his signature Black Luna rendered even the most hardy of fighters to shreds. Mesmerized, I saw the Black Knight evade blows like they were nothing and cleanly cleave heads and bodies to pieces with his Alondite. He was absolutely one of the strongest members of the Order at this time.
"Lucian, pay attention!" Someone snapped beside me. I jerked over just in time to evade an incoming Elfire spell. The allied mage beside me responded by surrounding the fire mage with a ring of flame, erecting a burning triangle inside before imploding the magical spell. The wizard was so thoroughly burnt through that not even ashes remained, "Hmph, you're clumsy. Not only are you stepping onto the battlefield yourself, you're getting distracted. Get out of here before you die"
"Sorry. I'll stay focused, Arvis" I nocked another arrow into my Silver Bow and fired, puncturing another wyvern rider circling the skies. The dragon screeched and spiraled to the ground, taking it's rider down with it. The emperor mage beside me grunted in slight disapproval before moving on to another section of the burning village. That mage was Arvis, the duke of House Velthomer and wielder of the Valflame. He wasn't as good of a fighter as the Black Knight, but he proved to be a mastermind in tactics on par with Soren. Similar to Katarina's Attack Ploy, Arvis specialized in breaking his foe's mind before going on the offensive. That made Arvis one of the Order's deadliest mages next to Celica and Reinhardt. We met him and a sword cavalier, Sigurd in the World of Holy War.
"Lucian, the right wing is cleared" Ephraim reported and I nodded, checking the skies to see if anymore wyvern riders were around. None soared and Arvis and my armored duo returned, so that meant the village was cleared. I had no idea what to do about the undying flames around us though.
"These flames… are unnatural. Normally I can control fire with my magic, but…" Arvis stretched his hand towards a burning roof, extending his will towards it. However, the flames didn't budge an inch, "They seem to be locked in a perpetual state of destruction"
"Robin and Katarina found a village like this before," I remarked, remembering the incident at the Zenith border, "They said it was due to an attack from the kingdom of Muspell. Perhaps this is…"
"Summoner Lucian, I bring bad news!" An Askrian rider came galloping up to me, both him and his horse panting, "A magical bridge has appeared over the southern sea and an army is marching over it, straight to Askr! We must mobilize the Order of Heroes and meet our foe"
"Understood. Come everyone, back to the castle!"
"Hold," The Black Knight reached into his armor and passed around four red pouches to us, "It's Warp Powder. Use it to transport yourself back to base"
"Are you sure it's saf-" Ephraim asked, but the Black Knight already warped away instantly, "Oh. Thanks a lot"
"No time for hesitance now. Now how does this work…?" I opened the pouch, letting loose a cloud of sparkly green light, "Whoa! What is going-"
Suddenly, a glowing yellow warp circle opened under my feet, transporting me back to the Order of Heroes base. When I arrived, I almost instantly keeled over. The Warp Powder drained all my stamina in one use.
"What the hell…" I wheezed, holding my chest. My heart was beating like crazy. I felt like I ran ten laps around the entire castle, "Never… make me use that… again…!"
"It will pass quickly. Stop fretting," The Black Knight said nonchalantly as Ephraim, Amelia and Arvis warped in soon after. Amelia immediately doubled over like I did, but Arvis and Ephraim seemed fairly unaffected, "The Warp Powder is only truly useful in the hands of the strong, but it won't permanently cripple you"
"Good… to know…" I grumbled and rose back up, trying to ascertain the situation around the castle. Hundreds of heroes were rushing around in quick and orderly fashion, mobilizing for battle. I spotted Alfonse, Sharena and Anna by the thrones at the back of the lobby, ordering the heroes around.
"Alfonse, Sharena and Commander Anna, I'm back from my expedition. What's going on?" I asked when I reached the top pavilion. Alfonse turned to me after sending away an Askrian armor knight, his face grim.
"It's like the messenger should of told you. A magical bridge was erected across the southern sea and an army is marching across. Definitely not Embla's army," The prince explained, "We're mobilizing the Order to combat them now, but…"
"The bridge is too small to hold both the Order's and the enemy army. It'll be a stalemate if we were to clash," Anna continued, "So we have a plan formulated already. We'll send a hundred battalions of Askrian soldiers and heroes to hold the bridge and choke out the opposing army, one by one. Meanwhile, an independent squad of heroes led by you will cross the sea via fliers, dropping off in enemy territory to sneak attack the foe"
"Most of the opposing army seems to be occupied crossing the bridge here, so the enemy nation is deserted, military wise," Soren finished as he passed by us, "Of course, they will still be a large handful left to hold the enemy country, but we'll drop off enough to outnumber them"
"All we have to do is make sure the main force on the bridge doesn't notice us," I nodded, getting excited by the idea, "So who do we have going into Muspell?"
"Many of our strongest and best heroes. It would be faster to not list them all," Alfonse replied, "We'll have them and the pegasi prepared in several hours. It would be a good idea to rest before the campaign begins, Lucian"
"Alright," I decided not to argue, since I was already tired from fighting the Muspellians by the burning village, "Let's hope this ends quickly"
…
By nighttime, we were due to depart. Askr's elite guards and soldiers have already fortified the bridge to hold back the army, so all that was left was for us to sneak into Muspell territory and end this war quickly.
"I had spies and fliers investigate our foe shortly before they began their attack," Alfonse told me as I made my way to Catria's pegasus. She was the one ferrying me across the southern sea, "Apparently, they just finished conquering their neighbor, Nifl, so we can expect their forces to be more thinly spread out across the continent"
"All the more easier to defeat them then," I nodded, "By the time their main force notices we're inside their country, we would have already freed Nifl and taken out Muspell. Easy as cake"
"Don't underestimate them, Lucian," Ike approached me with Soren by his side. I smiled lightly knowing that both of them were on the expedition with us, "Just because a foe may seem at the disadvantage doesn't mean they can't fight"
"Ike's right. The most dangerous enemy is a cornered one, after all. We don't know exactly what they're against either," Soren added before shuffling through a handful of papers, "According to this map, Nifl is of comparable size to Muspell and thus, should have a similar military presence. If Muspell can conquer their entire country is only a few months, they are not to be taken lightly"
"Okay, okay. I understand," I pressed my hand up to my forehead, "I just… needed to psyche myself up before getting into this. If I think we'll win, then we have a better chance, right?"
"It certainly helps morale," Soren frowned, "But facts and logic are the watchwords. Keep your head grounded Lucian"
"Soren, that's enough. Let's get back to our riders" Ike told his tactician and the wind mage nodded, the duo heading off. Alfonse left too, wanting to do one final check before we departed. I waited by Catria's pegasus before her master arrived, carrying a rather big supply bag.
"Seeing as we're covertly taking on an entire country, we all need as much as we can get," Catria strapped the bag over her pegasus, who whinnied in irritation, "I'm sorry to put you through this. A wyvern would of been better, but there aren't a lot of them here"
"I wonder if there are wild wyverns in Muspell," I thought aloud, going back to my lostlorn dream of becoming a flier, "I never spotted them in campaigns in Embla, so they must not be native to Zenith"
"It's possible," Catria frowned, double checking the straps again on her mount to make sure they were secure, "I'll warn you again though that trying to tame a wild pegasus or wyvern is very dangerous. Especially the latter"
"Do you know how Princess Minerva tamed hers?" I asked and the Whitewing shook her head.
"All that I know of is that Princess Minerva was once a pegasus knight, but by obligation, she had to ride a wyvern," Catria explained, "So she left her pegasus in a forest and took up a Dragon Whip, literally lassoing her own wyvern into her service"
"Whoa… so it's like cowboys of old lassoing bulls…" I muttered. Catria stared at me in confusion, "Nothing. Just something from my own world"
"I see. In any case, Dragon Whips only exist in Archanea and have been lost to time. Now only Elysian Whips exist to easily tame falicorns," Catria continued, "So no dice for you here. You have to do it the manual way"
"By servicing it with a lot of food?" I guessed and the Whitewing nodded, "Wonderful. Where can we get such a big feast?"
"Perhaps Muspell has something that can work," Catria shrugged, "But I wouldn't count on it. Maybe Oscar can whip up something good"
"He's coming along too?"
"Of course. Nobody makes better rations than he does," Catria smiled before climbing aboard her pegasus, grabbing the reins, "Anyways, looks like we're about to go. Shall we?"
"Yes" I accepted Catria's hand aboard and sat behind her, gripping her waist. The Whitewing urged her mount into action and thousands of fliers filled the air as the offensive against Muspell began…
…
"This is hopeless! Princess Fjorm, we have to retreat!" A Niflese soldier yelled over the chaos of battle around them, "We've extended too far. Muspell's going to trap us!"
"No! We're pressing forward!" Fjorm, a short girl with equally short wheat coloured hair insisted, "Hrid is still out there somewhere. We need to help him!"
"No, milady! Both you and Prince Hrid will die if you-" All of a sudden, a bolt of fire slammed into the soldier's chest, incinerating a crater right through his heart. He couldn't even gurgle before he slumped to the ground, instantly dead.
"Recklessness runs in the family, it seems," A voice rang throughout the fiery battlefield, commanding attention and fear. Fjorm looked ahead to the voice's owner and gasped. Her remaining soldiers backed up in fear as well. Stepping out of the haze of the heat was a giant covered in gold and red armor, carrying a massive flaming scythe. His face was brutal, marred with scars and burns, but he grinned like this was the funnest thing in his life.
"Surtr, king of Muspell…" Fjorm gripped her spear so tightly that her knuckles turned white. The icy tip of Leiptr hissed a cold aura in anger, bathing the land around her with white snow. However, it was quickly evaporated in Muspell's intense heat, "You… you killed…"
"I have killed many people. You have to be more specific," Surtr grinned darkly at his joke. Fjorm fumed, wanting to rip his face off.
"You… you killed my mother! I'll… I'll…!" Fjorm lost her nerve and charged at Surtr, yelling in primal fury. She slammed Leiptr with all her might onto Surtr's chest, but the legendary lance bounced off the king like it was nothing, "Gah!"
"Worthless. Even with Leiptr, you can't so much as scratch me," Surtr heaved his scythe upwards and Fjorm flinched, waiting for the blow to strike her. Instead, Surtr stamped the butt of the weapon onto the ground, "Try this"
"What are yo- AAAAH!" Fjorm was suddenly blown back by a shockwave of fire, crashing onto the molten ground hard. The princess groaned with pain as she tried to stand, dozens of burns lining her body, "Ungh… no…"
"As for the rest of you, if you don't want to see what happens to your dear princess, you will turn back," Surtr said to the remaining Nifilese soldiers. His visage casted a massive, choking shadow that chilled them to the bone. They couldn't even move out of sheer fear, "NOW!"
"R-retreat! Run for your lives!" One of the soldiers yelled and all of them turned tail and ran, leaving their princess for dead.
"Look how the mighty have fallen. Now even your soldiers have deserted you," Surtr grabbed Fjorm like she was a doll, holding her up to his face. The residual heat coming off Surtr made Fjorm gasp in agony, "You threw away your own life by pointing your weapon at me, a king! You strength is gone and you couldn't even put up a semblance of a fight. I should kill you for wasting my time"
"You can kill me, but Nifl won't…" Fjorm choked out, but Surtr squeezed his giant hand around the princess's waist, "GAH!"
'Feel that pain, child of ice. Feel it... and tell me what you desire most. Should I scar your face with flame?" Surtr scratched his finger slowly over Fjorm's cheek, painting a burning mark that made the princess cry, "Or should I burn your fingers to ash, one by one... As I did to your mother? What would you have me do, hmm?"
"Ungh… just… make it fast. Mark my words… Nifl…" Fjorm gasped as Surtr's grip tightened, threatening to crush her, "... Nifl won't fall…"
"Hmph. Is that so?" Surtr slammed Fjorm onto the ground, hard. The princess was knocked out instantly with blood pouring from every wound, "I disagree. The fate of the weak is to be trampled upon and I am the horse doing so"
"She's already unconscious. What shall we do, my king?" Loki asked.
"Hmph. Not even fit for a toy, huh…?" Surtr kicked Fjorm's broken body away and looked ahead, where Nifl castle was in the distance, "We march. My flames will soon reach every corner of this land"
"You don't waste any time, do you?" Loki looked at Fjorm's Leiptr, which was still glistening in the molten rocky land, "What shall we do with her weapon?"
"It is Muspell's now. It will make for a fine pike to hold the heads of our enemies" Surtr picked up the lance and signalled for his armies of men to move. The flames of conquest burn ever brighter, threatening to engulf the stars, the moon and eventually, the whole world. Just as the prophecy dictates…
…
"And that's how it goes, apparently. The end of the world" Alfonse finished. We were high in the nighttime sky now, far away from the endless battle taking place on the bridge. Even then, I could still spot shining flares of magic erupting from there like it was a fireworks show. The sonic booms that were Meteor, Blizzard and Bolting magic didn't help matters. It looked like the entire world was fighting against itself.
"Muspell is just another enemy nation, right? It can't be the end of the world like this prophecy says," I asked, shivering slightly in the cold air, "I mean, they can't seriously dry up the sea, burn mountains and swallow the stars, right?"
"Who knows? The symbol of Muspell is the undying flame and we've seen it firsthand at the border villages," Alfonse replied, "By their might, I wouldn't put it past them to be capable of doing the things they did"
"If there's anything we can tell from this, it's that as long as Muspell has a presence in this world, their flames will never die," Catria added, "So if they really conquer the entire world, the prophecy WILL come true"
"Just what are we up against…?"
"Alert! Enemy wyvern riders have been spotted coming in from Muspell! They're carrying the emblem of Embla!" An Askrian pegasus knight stated next to Alfonse. Niles was behind the messenger, arming his bow for battle.
"Embla is on Muspell's side?! What is Veronica thinking…?" Alfonse grit his teeth, "Okay, send every rider accompanied by an archer or a mage to engage them. Lucian, pitch in with Catria"
"Will do. I got this!" I armed myself with my Silver Bow and Catria steered her pegasus ahead, getting to the front lines. Once I could make out how many enemies were there, my grip on my arrows wavered, "Whoa… that's a lot of riders"
"We have an equal amount of archers and mages on our side. Don't worry," Catria armed herself with her Slaying Lance+ before noticing Soren's rider beside her, "Soren! Do you have a plan for this?!"
"If we can coordinate all our fighters properly, perhaps…" Soren opened his Rexcalibur tome, which was glowing green in the nighttime light, "All archers, form into a line! All mages, form below them. On my signal, we'll all fire at once!"
Soren's voice was carried by the wind and it resounded throughout our force clear as crystal. Suddenly, I spotted hundreds of pegasi and wyverns swoop down to form straight battle lines directed by Soren. Following that was a giant stretch of mage riders, all ready to unleash their spells.
"Thunder mages, fire!" Soren yelled, "RESONANT LIGHTNING!"
With a great roar, thousands of lightning bolts were called from the air, rocketing down at the speed of light and decimating nearly half of the Emblian wyvern riders in a single blow. The enemy swerved and swiveled around in confusion, trying to avoid the onslaught of lightning.
"Fire mages, it's your turn!" I heard Arvis's commanding voice yell on the wind, "RAGING FLAMES!"
Instantly, hundreds of fireballs flew threw the air, lighting the skies brighter than the stars ever will. The fireballs collided with the remaining wyvern riders, sending them sprawling to the sea in plumes of dark smoke. Only a few remained and they were starting to turn back, retreating from their sudden destruction. However, Soren was having none of it.
"Finish them off! Wind mages, RESONANT GALES!" Soren cried and the wind mages acted as one, conjuring a jetstream of wind that completely obliterated the few wyvern riders left, scattering them to the far corners of the world. With the threat passed, Soren disengaged the formation and flew back to his place like nothing happened.
"Wow… we didn't even need to employ the archers there. The mages completely wasted the enemy on their own" I said in amazement as me and Catria flew back to the backlines, where Alfonse was watching the display with equal shock, "What even was that…?"
"Gambits. Every tactician should know that," Arvis said, flying up to me. His Valflame tome glowed with a faint orange light under his arm, "Specialized maneuvers used by a group of similar troops on the battlefield. Magical gambits in particular are extremely useful in utterly decimating foes quickly. I used one myself back in my world"
"... Which one?"
"One called Meteor Shower, which calls forth a salvo of Meteor spells involving ten or more experienced fire mages. Expensive, but devastating" Arvis smiled, looking proud of himself, "In any case, I have been studying gambits and battalion formations more extensively as of late, but Soren knows more. Go and speak to him if you'd like"
"Will do. Thanks for the tip, Arvis," I thanked the emperor mage and he flew off. Alfonse turned to me, troubled.
"The Battle of Belhalla. That was what he used the gambit for," Alfonse deduced before staring off in the direction of the flame emperor, "And he looked so proud while describing it…"
"That battle seems to come up a lot here," I frowned, "In any case, I doubt Arvis was smiling because of the carnage. He was proud of his squad executing the gambit successfully. They must be hard to pull off"
"Whatever you say, Lucian. Do remember that Arvis was considered the blackest stain of evil in Judgral next to his son," Alfonse reminded me, "Don't cozy up to him too much"
"... I'll try not to," I shrugged, "By the way, have any idea how far we are from Muspell?"
"We should be arriving soon. Ideally, we'll already be deep inside Muspell once dawn breaks," Alfonse cupped his hand under his chin, "Because a swarm of a thousand fliers would absolutely be noticed dropping in"
"No kidding," I squinted ahead, trying to discern anything in the nighttime twilight, "Well, I'm going to go talk to Soren for a bit before we land. Need to know more about these gambits and battalions"
"Sure thing"
…
After a lengthy chat with Soren, both Robins and the other strategists, we finally spotted the continent of Drasalia on the horizon. On one side were the molten and fiery crags of Muspell while on the other was a snow covered land dotted with pine trees and sparkling ice crystals. The discrepancy in weather and climate looked like night and day.
"Commander, what's our objective once we land? We aren't planning to straight up storm Muspell's castle just like that, right?" I asked Anna as we drew close to the burning continent. The bridge leading to Zenith was deserted, meaning Muspell's attack force was already far engaged with ours. Nobody would see us coming in from here.
"First, we need a solid base of operations. I can't imagine the campaign against Muspell would be quick," Anna replied, surveying the landscape, "So we've decided to start by liberating Nifl castle first and then allying with their survivors to mount an offense against Muspell. If we act discreet enough, we can turn the tides against them far before their main force on the bridge arrives"
"Good idea. There aren't a lot of good places to set up a temporary base out here," I bit my lip, looking at the hellish landscape of Muspell. It must hurt to even walk on it, "So we're being dropped off and heading to Nifl first?"
"We'll be moving in small teams of five, as to not attract attention. Lucian, you're going with the Black Knight, Amelia, Catria and Arvis. Kill any Muspellian soldier you see so they won't alert the king of our presence. That's our goal," Anna continued, "I already briefed the others on the plan, so all we need to do it put it into action"
"Right. And so it begins…" I felt Catria's pegasus lower and we finally stepped onto the continent of Drasalia, a completely different world from Muspell. Anna held a quick briefing to remind us of the plan and destination before sallying her four companions.
"Alright everyone, that's it. See you all at Nifl castle!" Anna waved and just like that, she was gone. Disappeared into the smoky haze of Muspell.
"Lucian, please stay safe. That's all I ask," Alfonse told me before beckoning his four heroes to join him. Taking one last look at me, the Askrian prince departed into the haze.
"We'll all make it there in one piece. I just know it!" Sharena grinned enthusiastically. Even in a whole new world, she was still as bubbly as ever. I envied that, "Now then, follow me! To Nifl castle we go!"
"Shall we?" Catria asked and I nodded, taking one last look at the cloud of fliers flying back to Zenith. Our only way back home fading quickly into the horizon.
"Right. Come along everyone. The war against Muspell starts now"
It only took ten minutes of me walking through the fiery lands of Muspell to hate the place. The sun seemed to be omni-present in the sky and it beat down mercilessly, threatening to cook me in my thin summoner robes. I threw down my cowl while Catria's pegasus beat its wings, trying to cool us down. Even Arvis was getting into it, trying to control our temperature with his magic.
"Mr Black Knight, how are you doing?" Amelia asked as she wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead, "I'm wearing less armor than you, yet I'm getting roasted! Are you doing okay?"
"I'm doing just fine, thank you. These conditions are nothing to me," The Black Knight replied. I smiled wanly. Superhuman as always, that knight was, "This is comparable to the Kauku Caves back in my world. Nothing to fret about"
"What's your secret?! Tell me, please!" Amelia begged, struggling to put one foot over the other. I couldn't blame her. I was already having trouble myself and I didn't even wear armor, "Do you have ventilated armor or something? Are you a magical being who can control their body heat?"
"I am not answering that," The Black Knight replied, annoyed before scanning his surroundings for enemies, "Now draw your weapons. The enemy approaches"
"Huh?" Before I could even get my bow, the Black Knight already threw a heaven-breaking shockwave from his sword, splitting an Emblian axe fighter in half. Amelia heaved her Slaying Axe+ and took out an approaching lance and axe fighter while Arvis easily roasted two wyvern riders soaring in, "Looks like they're just patrol grunts"
"Yep. Hopefully these are the only forces left in Muspell," Catria evaded a swordmaster's blade before countering, impaling the enemy soldier through, "Lucian, shoot that flier down! He's getting away!"
"Ha!" I aimed up and ahead of the rider, letting loose my Silver Bow to rupture the wyvern's leg. It screeched in pain before Arvis's fire bolt struck it, taking it down.
"Lucian, do you even know where we're going? Do you have a route planned to get to Nifl castle?" Arvis asked and I put on a sheepish grin.
"I'll admit that I didn't think that far ahead," I replied and the emperor mage groaned, annoyed, "Catria, fly up and scout a potential path, please"
"Of course," The Whitewing flew a little high into the sky for several moments before coming back down to ground level, "There is a grove of trees to our left that will lead into Nifl. Let's make that our destination for now"
"Alright. Anything else?"
"I think I spotted a figure lying on the ground up ahead. They seemed to be injured," Catria frowned as I ran ahead, "Lucian, wait!"
"This glow in my Breidablik… that's a hero. I'm sure of it," I muttered to myself as I ran ahead to the fallen girl lying on the ground. Her body was covered head to toe in burns and she was marred and scratched all over the place. In particular, she had a nasty scarred burn on her cheek. Her wheat coloured hair was strewn with dirt and rocks. When I touched her, she was as cold as ice. Odd…
"Lucian!" Catria and the others caught up to me, noticing me with the unconscious woman, "Who is that?"
"I don't know, but she definitely doesn't look Muspellian. Judging by her colour scheme, armor and skin temperature, I'd wager that she's from Nifl," I replied, scooping up the girl easily in my arms, "She's still breathing, so we can heal her back to health"
"That won't be necessary," Arvis approached me, casting his hand over the girl's chest, "A few casts of this and she'll be fine. Ardent Sacrifice!"
A warm glow of green light sparked between Arvis and the girl, healing her wounds bit by bit. Scratches and gashes tore at Arvis with every cast, but he seemed to heal it back just fine. After three more uses, the girl was completely healed, aside from being unconscious and the cheek scar. Seems it wanted to stay.
"Thank you Arvis. How are you even-"
"My Recover Ring. It periodically heals me of my wounds," Arvis showed me a ring banded with an emerald over his finger, "As such, I can make for a makeshift healer with Ardent Sacrifice. You're welcome"
"Incredible," I grinned before readjusting the woman in my arms, "Well, she'll hopefully be awake soon. Let's press forward"
…
Fjorm watched helplessly as the world around her burned in her dreams. Fires danced on every inch of the land, serenading in it's waltz to destruction. The inferno wrapped around Fjorm's beloved icy home, Nifl castle, consuming it in an instant and leaving it as a shell of ash. Over and over again, Fjorm saw the tortured face of her mother as Surtr burned her slowly, each body part reduced to ash and more and more pain brought to her face. Fjorm could hear her mother's tortured begging for her to die.
"Mother!" Fjorm ran to the visage, but it got farther and farther away the faster she ran after it. The endless chase amidst equally endless flames made Surtr's laughs echo throughout the land, crashing into Fjorm's ears and making her drop to the ground in agony, trying to suppress it.
"STOP IT SURTR!" Fjorm screamed into the inferno, "You sick maniac! When will you have enough of your bloody conquest?!"
"My conquest will never end until I see the world just like you see it now," Surtr's voice replied and Fjorm opened her eyes, trying to discern the source. However, it seemed to reign above her, in the clouds, "A world bathed in the bloody inferno, consumed by Muspell's undying flame. Despair, Fjorm. DESPAIR!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Our team:
- Black Knight, Sinister General. Level 40
Alondite, Swap, Black Luna, Steady Stance 3, Warp Powder, Ward Armor 3 and Distant Defense 3 seal
- Amelia, Rose of the War. Level 40
Slaying Axe+, Swap, Ignis, Fury 3, Renewal 3 and Armor March 3 and Attack +3 seal
- Catria, Middle Whitewing. Level 40
Slaying Lance+, Reposition, Luna, Fury 3, Desperation 3, Goad Fliers 3 and Speed +3 seal
- Arvis, Emperor of Flame. Level 40
Valflame, Ardent Sacrifice, Iceberg, Fury 3, Recover Ring, Defense Ploy 3 and Resistance +3 seal
Phew. Finally back to this fic. Sorry about the hiatus guys. I kinda got caught up with a Dragalia Lost novelization and my PMD1 one and that has consumed my writing time for the last couple weeks. From this point onward, I'm ignoring paralogues and other special events since we'll be spending ALOT of time in Muspell. Additionally, I skipped the Performing Arts, World of Holy War and Halloween paralogues, along with the Moment of Fate Tempest Trial because I seriously wanted to get the Book II arc on the road. I think it'll be infinitely more interesting than those three would of been. In any case, hopefully I finish this before Book IV is done with lmao. If you want to be notified of when a new chapter releases, favorite and follow! If you want to leave constructive criticism, leave a review. Until next time, fellow summoners!