A groan escaped Ruwen, and his throat tightened.
Rami, please set a timer for two hours and twelve minutes.
If he didn’t figure out a way to retake New Eiru and save the temple in the next two hours, hundreds of thousands of people would die forever, including Hamma.
Chapter 77
Clapping Brawlers were the first layer of defense around the Shattered Sun, and they had redirected the army toward the lake. The Commanders had kept order and the army rested in organized rows, waiting for Ruwen’s commands.
Nineteen minutes had passed since Ruwen had received the terrible news. Phoenix had arrived, having sensed the massive disturbance at New Eiru. Ruwen had summoned the most experienced Commanders, and they stood among the large crystals along with Ruwen’s family and friends.
Ruwen removed his Overseer’s Cowl, explained the situation, and asked for solutions.
The only sounds came from weapons bumping into plate, leather armor creaking, and shifting feet on the small crystal shards that littered the ground. No one said a word.
Ruwen looked at Tremine. “Anything?”
Tremine frowned. “Attacking underground is out, as that is a Naktos specialty. If we could bring part of the mountain down, it might destroy the army, but could also increase the time to reach the temple. Fire is a weakness, but they have access to a lake, and could put out any flames. The walls are fortified, and even with so many Workers here, it would take too long to breach them. We just don’t have the power needed to make an assault viable.”
Ruwen listened to silence for thirty seconds before speaking again. “Forget about the city. Can we save the temple?”
“We don’t know what’s attacking the temple,” Clarysa said.
“The water pressure would crush your lungs long before you reached three thousand feet,” Tremine said.
“We have to assume Haffa’s troops guard it at that depth,” Colyn said. “So even if you made it down there somehow, you would not be safe.”
“If their purpose is to destroy the temple,” Lylan said. “Then they’ll have rigged the hole to collapse. It is useful to them right now, but if we somehow figure out a way to retrieve it, they’ll destroy the walls before we make much progress.”
“Phoenix?” Ruwen asked.
Phoenix rubbed his chin. “The problem is the salt water and stone slurry that surrounds the temple. There are no Cultivation experts in that for the same reason Uru doesn’t have Mud Mages. The combination is hard to manipulate. This is more proof that Naktos and Haffa have worked together for a long time.”
Ruwen wanted to collapse under all the bad news, but the Overlord kept him standing.
Phoenix looked sad. “While we can’t help with any attacks, we can help shield from a safe distance, and heal any wounded.”
Ruwen nodded. But there wouldn’t be any attack because the situation was hopeless. Anger and frustration filled him, and he wanted to scream. He knew another failure was imminent, because he wouldn’t allow Hamma and the hundreds of thousands of people still in the queue to die forever.
The Scarecrow would appear before that happened. He would use his Spirit to save them. And then doom them and everyone else, to obliteration by the gods.
Xavier floated ten feet away, still staring at the sun. The Celestial Remnant’s indifference to everything made Ruwen even angrier. “Xavier, what can you possibly see that’s more interesting than our survival?”
Xavier continued to look at the sun as he responded. “Your survival does not matter.”
Ruwen’s hands clenched.
“None of us matter,” Xavier said. “Long after we die, this sun will still shine. The power of light, filling the darkness, warming it, spreading life. That is what matters.”
The answer shocked Ruwen. He knew that Celestial Remnants were usually born in exploding stars, and he’d assumed Xavier was, in a way, staring at home. But the philosophical answer shocked Ruwen. And there was something else. A tiny pinpoint of cold in Ruwen’s mind that meant his Cleverness attribute had made a connection.
Ruwen sat, crossed his legs, and cleared his mind. He focused on Xavier’s words, repeating them in his head like a chant, waiting for the other threads to connect. Long after we die, this sun will still shine. The power of light, filling the darkness, warming it, spreading life. That is what matters.
Minutes passed, and Ruwen struggled to keep his thoughts clear as the time pressure squeezed him.
Rami’s last comment to Ruwen swirled around Xavier’s words. She had been talking about Blapy. You know everything she does is with a purpose.
Careful to keep the focus on Xavier’s and Rami’s words, Ruwen thought about his last few interactions with Blapy. She had bargained to give Fractal room to expand. She had forced Xavier on them. She had created the amazing dungeon mark for the Shattered Sun and this beautiful crystal entrance. She had created a portal to—
Ruwen stopped reminiscing as the pinpoint of cold grew into a shard. He examined the thought again. Blapy had created the amazing dungeon mark for the Shattered Sun and this beautiful crystal entrance.
Ruwen winced in pain and contemplated the obvious thing these memories had in common: the sun. He pulled up his right sleeve and willed the mark into visibility. The mark glowed and gave off heat.
Immediately another memory surfaced: Sift sitting in this exact crystal forest. Ruwen had thought the crystals looked like candles as they concentrated the moonlight at their tips. He had thought Sift was meditating, but he’d said this instead: Sifting the moonlight. These crystals reflect the light, which makes it easier…
Another memory exploded into Ruwen’s mind from immediately after Blapy had created the portal to Fractal. He pictured it again: Smaller pieces of clear gem littered the ground, absorbing the moonlight, amplifying it, and giving the area a twilight feel eerily reminiscent of the Spirit Realm.
The common threads were the sun and the crystals. Ruwen grabbed his head as that thought caused a network of ice to crawl through his brain.
Memories came quickly. One of Ruwen firing Xavier’s spell back at
