The Pillar of Enera

[Book II Chapter 70] DAWN: The undead hordes

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Within the cathedral like interior, Saints descended two spiral staircases in orderly fashion. Dawn observed this fascinated. “Why isn’t anyone rushing ahead?” She asked.

“It’s a long established custom.” Zentrias answered. “When new dungeons spawn, adventurers wait until everyone reaches the starting line. Anyone violating this unspoken rule will be targeted by those who follow.”

That would explain it. Dawn was extremely satisfied with her new party, especially its leader. While Carol had explained why Zentrias couldn’t use his eyes all the time, that didn’t matter to her. The fact remained the man possessed a terrifying ability against which she wasn’t sure she would prevail. That and his vast experience made him worthy of her respect.

This was shaping up to be a positively splendid outing. Not only were they facing the most dreaded type of dungeon, they were in a race against human opponents with really important stakes involved. She welcomed both aspects of the challenge. No doubt I’ll have the opportunity to demonstrate the full extent of my skills, and, to make it even better, I have Rose here to witness it all.

Rose sensed Dawn studying her and winced. “We’re going up against the undead. Try not to do anything to crazy.”

Is she nervous? “Don’t worry I’ll protect you.” Dawn assured in her kindest voice. Rose went rigid then stomped off, which made her smile. I’ve missed her irrational fits of anger.

Reaching the last step, they exited to a wide stone courtyard, and a warm, reassuring feeling swept over Dawn, as though she was bathed in sunlight. This was sanctified ground, a field of holy magic which repelled the abyss and those spawned from it. Such spaces would be their only respite in the undead dungeon.

Beyond a sheer cliff where the courtyard ended, visibility was terrible. Chunks of bedrock were suspended in the air, engulfed by a raging dust storm. On many were parts of roads and buildings.

Dawn held out a hand beyond the courtyard’s protective barrier and felt the malevolent winds of the vilestorm. She then looked down at the dust-swept plains half a mile below and saw skeletal figures, thousands of them. “They aren’t noticing us.” She observed.

“The HEAVENLY DAO’s sanctified grounds are special.” Carol explained, gesturing to the faint glow around them. “The undead can’t see through. To them, it’s a wall of light.”

“Interesting.” Dawn mumbled. In several places in the distant haze, gigantic rocky spires jutted from the ground and traveled all the way up to the field of floating ruins. So they have the means to reach us…

Stannis Gilron led his team onto the first hovering rock, and the parties of his two necromancer allies soon followed. The reaction was immediate, with unearthly howls echoing up. The skeletal masses surged towards the spires, climbing up with surprising speed.

Dawn frowned. “Three teams cooperating… Doesn’t that trivialize things?”

“The early portions, yes.” Zentrias nodded. “Which is why most will start off traveling alone. Later on, the situation changes. We’ll most likely need to group up to clear the final floors.”

“Is it alright to give them this head start?” Rose asked.

“It’s fine.” Zentrias continued. “This dungeon will take days to clear. We’ll catch up later. For now, let’s let him draw the horde away from us.”

Dawn watched Stannis effortlessly bulldoze his way through his skeletal opponents, and an expectant grin creeped on her face. Will you be the one who helps me realize my ambition?

Soon other teams took off, and Zentrias decided it was time, offering some final advice. “Focus on knocking them off. It’s not worth the time and energy to deal with them for good. Also, the winds will shift to throw you off balance. Be ready for it.”

The undead reacted immediately, making their way straight for them across the aerial rumble. Most had weapons, and a few had pieces of armor clinging to their bones.

Dawn smiled and raced ahead. This was what she’d been waiting for. Channeling power into her arms, she released cold shockwaves that send skeletons tumbling below. For the stubborn ones who refused to fall quietly, she flash froze them with blasts of ice. Not one got close. It’s regrettable that I can’t display my hand to hand skills, but they’re too spread out.

She’d improved immensely since the Isle of Dreams. The boost from becoming a saint had allowed her to access the rest of ‘Winter’s Embrace’, Astra’s martial art. She’d then perfected her mastery during her time in Aery and had moved on to developing her own awesome techniques. Unfortunately, the rabble before her wasn’t worthy of experiencing them.

Dawn easily deflected an arrow aimed at her neck and glared back at the archer readying another. It’s not fair how they aren’t affected, she griped, shooting a frozen shard with enough speed and force to smash the undead’s chest despite the violent winds.

The gigantic anomalous undead storm around them was doing its best to be a royal pain. Sudden gusts attempted to blow them off the rocks, and powerful downdrafts sought to drag them down when they jumped. Multiple times, Dawn resorted to anchoring herself with ice and executing mid air hops to adjust her trajectory. Flying in this would be a nightmare.

It was a couple of minutes later before the area’s last enemy made it’s appearance. When Dawn landed in the middle of a broken courtyard, two horrifying figures swooped down from the sky, their black shrouds obscuring everything except for their skulls and clawed hands.

She instantly send shards at them but was surprised when her projectile passed right through. She formed ice blades to engage, but, before she could, a mass of tentacles entangled the wraiths and dragged them into a rift in the air. “Only their arms and head are tangible.” Carol shouted. “Aim there.”

Now it’s getting a little exciting. Dawn succeeded in freezing three aerial opponents before turning to face a group of skeletons. However, a vicious beam of crimson fire shot by her face, sending them plummeting. That’s new. “Quit hogging the fighting. Since I’m here, I’d like to earn some EXP too.” Rose said resentfully.

“I concur.” Zentrias added, ejecting another group with an explosion. “We can’t have you wasting too much energy on the starting area. Your strength will be needed later.”

“You and Carol deal with the wraiths.” He directed. “Rose and I will fend off the skeletons.”

“You take the rear.” Carol added.

Dawn sighed. If I have to… She slowed down, focusing on taking down the enemies behind them. It was so tediously easy that her mind soon drifted to the supreme ability she’d unleashed on the Isle.

To her eternal frustration, the sublime vagary remained incomplete, and the knowledge that should have come to her hadn’t. This probably has to do with the unique situation I used it in. She remembered what her ability did and how to wield it. What was eluding her was the activating conditions. On its own, simply reciting the chant did nothing. Myriad Calamity Crystallization had a hidden prerequisite whose nature eluded her.

Discovering how to unlock the sublime vagary had become somewhat of an obsession. It was another reason she’d pushed herself to solo so many dungeon, theorizing that a hopeless situation was probably the trigger. Unfortunately, these efforts had failed. Nothing had been on the level of a deathmatch with an immortal.

But maybe this time… She thought back to Stannis effortlessly plowing through his foes. She sensed in him a threat rivaling Sion Gale. Perhaps he’ll be the insurmountable obstacle I need.