Limits

Fox took me to the side, and laid me down. "Are you alright?", she asked. I asked in response, "Do I look alright?... Sedon will be weakened now. The Royal Army will move back, while Shades will fare for themselves". She said promptly "It wasn't your fault! The damages were reduced thanks to you. Otherwise we might've found the city in ruins, when we returned next time". I shook my head, and said "I'm not beating myself up about it. I don't blame myself either. This is war, and they should be aware of the stakes".

I took out some medicine from my bag, and drank it. "Although Arangard being destroyed is a problem, the bigger issue is Royal Army. If they leave, the Lizards may find themselves in an even worse situation", I said. Fox asked, "Why? Wouldn't they have more soldiers to defend this place?". I snorted, then replied "Perhaps, but at a price. If Sedon falls, they have one less ally in this war. If Voltars fall too, Lizards alone will lose that war either way".

Fox thought about it for a while, and asked "So what should we do?". I shrugged, and said "What can I do? I can't win a war by myself. This was just one Eterian. Even if their numbers are low, three Eterians are enough to deal with me. There must be many more of them, but how many? I don't know… If I had more Yellow Dust, this would be simpler". She asked "Yellow Dust?". I shook my hand, and said "Doesn't matter. There is a way though. If I go back to Apium, I might be able to induce some heavy damages to our enemies".

"Apium? Why Apium?", she asked. I said, "Because they are in possession of certain knowledge about something. Something that can help us wipe out an army". She asked "It's that good?... What is it then?". I replied with a smile "Poison. First, I need to go to Sedon. If they manage somehow, then I will travel to Apium. Atols will not help me easily… Especially me, but they will have no choice really. If they want to live their carefree lives, they have to provide me with those things". I looked at Fox for a while, and said "You will stay here, and help Lizards out. Take care of Suly and Lazar. I will visit you, before I leave for Apium. During that time, make sure to train properly".

She protested and wanted to go with me, but my answer was, "No". She couldn't help me much, and I had to specifically slow down because of her. She could take care of herself, and someone had to watch over Suly. I had to act fast, and run between places. I had no time to wait for her, or explain everything to her. A while of silence later, she asked "Why do you want to accomplish everything by yourself?". I shook my head, and replied "I'm not trying to, believe me Fox. I told you, I can't win that war by myself. Even if I break through or achieve mastery in the Arts, I can't simply fight against many Eterians. If they focus on me alone, I'm done for… Anyone would be".

She asked "Then doesn't that mean, we will lose the war either way?". I smiled, and said "That is why I need to visit Apium. It's not only poison, I need a few other things from them". I felt much better already, and stood up. "If we can fight against the Eterian illusions and manipulations, we stand a much better chance", I said. She nodded her head, but then realised something and asked "Not a win?". I laughed while replying "Win? I feel it in my bones, this will not be simple at all. They war will last, it's not going to end in a month or two. After all, most of the whole North is involved".

Fox asked a question, that would be on most people's minds. "Why don't we just leave? North is North, we can just stay in the Endrosian Empire. Why fight for the North?". I replied "I have a few reasons, but I will tell you this one. Furians and Eterians are able to leave this place. If they win the war, and enslave everything here, it will be a matter of time before Humans will be forced to face them. Although other races can't leave this place, they don't have to. Enough Eterians and Furians would already tilt the scales in their favour. Of course, it could happen in the next 10 or 100 years. That would depend on their forces and plans. Both of those factors are unknown to me".

She sighed, and said "Alright. I will keep an eye on Suly for you. I will try to come up with something regarding my training too. I wanted to follow you, so I guess I too have to participate in that war". I smiled and said "I never forced you thought". She shook her hand, and said "I know. Make sure to come back alive, alright?". I nodded, and said farewell to Fox.

I slowly headed towards Sedon. I had no idea what to expect when I arrive, I only knew those were the frontlines. It took me over a week to bypass the Sludge Factory, which didn't change at all, and reach Sedon. The city was… tired. From afar, I could already see the broken walls, and smoke coming out of the city. 'The situation is not as great, as I would've hoped for' I thought. When I got closer to the city, a small garrison of Shades blocked my way. One of them demanded, "State your business".

I took out the thing that Lazar gave me, and showed it to them. The Shade replied "Means shit to me. Your business, what is it?". 'Oh, seems they are really careful' I thought, and replied "I'm here to see Crow and Harlin". I doubted the Royal Army would pack themselves that quickly and leave. At least I hoped they didn't. The Shade though, was having none of that. I said "Look, it's either the hard way or the easy way, I don't have time for some lackeys". The hard way it was, because they attacked. I didn't kill them, they were my allies after all. I simply… neutralised them, and continued towards the city.

'Hmm, more of them are coming' I thought, and disappeared. I ran past the Shades, and arrived at the closed gate. 'Right. They won't just open the doors I suppose' I thought, and used the broken walls to climb. I didn't have to climb far, because the upper walls above the gate were damaged. With a final jump, I was inside the city. What greeted me, was a horde of soldiers. Both Lizards and Shades waited for me.

I said "Seriously guys, if I wanted to kill, the others would die a long time ago. Where is Crow, or Harlin?". They obviously didn't care about my explanation, when I noticed around 100 arrows flying my way. I disappeared from that place, and tried to make it through the crowd. To my surprise, there were a few Shades who could follow my movements. 'Not bad at all. I guess I can find some time after all' I thought. Testing out the strength of my allies, was not such a bad idea either. I ran past a few Lizard and Shades, when suddenly one of the Lizards slashed at my direction. I evaded quickly, but another Shade was behind me. I tapped my leg lightly on the ground, and changed the direction to the right. 'Not bad at all. They have some good people hiding amongst the crowd' I thought.

Another two Shades were on my tail, and used their skills. It was weird to be sure, they somehow morphed into grey smoke, and their speed increased substantially. I used my Natural Path skill to the full, but then my instincts flared up for some reason. I moved to the side, but the feeling didn't disappear. Then I saw eyes in my shadow. 'What the…?' I thought, when a hand with a dagger extended out of my shadow, and rushed at me. I used my own dagger to block, and reached out my hand to grab whoever was hiding in my shadow.

I was to slow though. The hand retreated back to my shadow, and they eyes disappeared. What appeared instead, were two axes on my left and right. I released my Auras, and the axes stopped mid swing. 'That was close' I thought. There were at least 10 people at their Inner Limits. All of them could find me one way or another. They also possessed some weird and unusual skills, skills I haven't encountered before.

I broke out of the crowd, and into the open area. Most soldiers could only kneel or stand rooted in the ground. There were some who could still move though. I said "That's enough guys. I'm not your enemy. Which enemy would actually infiltrate a city alone? Think about it". A few Shades appeared in front of me, and a female Shade asked "Why have you entered the city then?". I said "To meet my friends. Where is Crow? Or Harlin?". She asked surprised "You know them? How can you…". Before she finished asking the obvious questions, I showed her the seals from Lazar, and from Jora. "I'm not sure if you already received the info, but Arangard was nearly destroyed. Anyway, where can I find either of them?".

I then heard someone say "We will take you to General Harlin. We already know about Arangard, but we would like to know more as well. You've been there right?". I said "Just take me to Harlin then", and walked up to the heavily armoured Lizards.