But most shocking of all, Serah was levitating behind them in a gravity aura streamed by the Gravitists, her blue eyes wide with fear.
“Put her down,” he said. The ether within him begged to be released, and it was all he could do to hold back the tide.
“You’re forgetting your prior commitment, Lucian,” the Sorceress-Queen said, her voice filled with gravitas. “The Orbs will not obey you without my help.”
“You’re wrong,” Lucian said. “I am the Chosen, and if there’s anyone who needs to be following orders here, it’s you.”
There was a moment of frigid silence, as even the Queen’s Mage-Knights’ eyes widened at the challenge. Likely, they had never seen anyone stand up to the Queen like this.
“You are clearly not fit for the Orb, Lucian. Stand down, and I may have mercy. Your friend’s life hangs in the balance.”
Serah screamed something at him, but she was somehow silenced. He opened a Psionic link to her, which he felt instantly blocked by the Queen. Lucian brute-forced the link, drawing more and more magic from the Orb of Psionics. At last, the connection was made.
Lucian! Don’t worry about me. Kill her!
Lucian didn’t want to risk Serah’s life, but he also knew that she was right. If he limited himself out of concern for her life, they might both be lost.
He had to get at the Queen, but that wouldn’t be easy.
“You artless worm,” she said. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen!”
“Last chance,” Lucian said. “Let her go.”
The Queen snarled. “Kill him.”
Instantly, he streamed the Orb of Psionics with all its power, sending out a kinetic wave aimed precisely at every Mage-Knight that stood before him, along with the Queen. Before they could even let off a single volley of magic, the Mage-Knights flew backward at incredible speed, smashing into the interior wall of the Spire. Only the Queen was able to block the wave’s power with her own shield, but even she was struggling under its force.
Lucian blinked in surprise, unable to believe the amount of power he had unleashed. With no more Mage-Knight Gravitists streaming, Serah’s gravity aura dissipated and she sunk to the floor, landing with a thud. Her eyes remained closed, but there was nothing Lucian could do to help her for now.
The Queen, with a scream, streamed her own counter, a kinetic wave of great power that rippled against Lucian’s shield. Lucian’s breath caught, fully expecting it to tear him to shreds. But it didn’t make so much as a dent. The Queen’s eyes widened, and then narrowed in anger as she streamed another wave, this one more powerful. Lucian streamed his shield stronger to match. And there was yet more power to bear from the Orb.
“You can’t touch me,” he said. “The Orb won’t allow it.”
“It obeys you!” she said, fear creeping into her voice. “Why does it obey you?”
Lucian now stood a few meters from her. “You said it yourself. Because I am the Chosen.”
He reached inside the Queen’s mind, where he saw her in her true state – an old, shriveled woman with yellowed skin and long, greasy hair. That husk of a woman was not here in this spire. Only her mind was. Instantly, Lucian realized why the Sorceress-Queen appeared so young – and he could only see the truth due to the power of the Orb.
The woman standing before him wasn’t truly the Sorceress-Queen.
The violet eyes should have been his clue. This young woman, whoever she was, was possessed. A powerful brand surrounded this woman’s Focus, a brand that allowed the Sorceress-Queen to control her from elsewhere, probably the Golden Palace in Dara.
But for all purposes, the Manifold was treating this woman as if she were the Queen, with all her attendant power.
In short, killing this woman would kill the Queen, too – her mind and her Focus. But it would also mean killing the woman being controlled by her.
She gave a cruel smile, a smile that seemed to realize what Lucian knew.
“You rotting bitch.”
Lucian sent out another kinetic shockwave, but it was easily countered by the Queen with a shield. She smiled.
“A one-trick pony, aren’t you?” She chuckled coldly. “It’s over, Lucian.”
He kept his shield up, a flood of ether keeping it powered. Her various attacks against him were deflected – attacks against mind and body. She couldn’t touch him, as far as Psionics was concerned. But Lucian had trouble attacking her with the same intensity, knowing the truth.
There had to be a way to save the woman possessed by the Queen, but how? It would not only take brute force, but delicacy. The mind was a fragile thing and forcing the Queen out in one ruthless blow might destroy the helpless person she was controlling.
A lance of blue light shot from the Queen’s right palm, latching onto Lucian’s leg. Lucian quickly countered, but the Queen’s Binding stream was only a feint. A gravity disc bloomed below him, and immediately he was forced to his knees. His shockspear felt as if it weighed a hundred kilos, and it dropped to the floor. Lucian knew he couldn’t match her Gravitonic stream. It was only a matter of time until he was crushed like a bug underfoot.
He had to stop her at the source. He wasn’t even sure the Orb of Psionics could handle blocking her Focus. No mage in their right mind would ever allow access to that most vital aspect of themselves and would defend it to their very deaths.
But perhaps the Sorceress-Queen would not anticipate a move so bold. But the window of opportunity would soon close. He had to make one final attack. Even now, the force of the gravity pulling
