October 10, 2152
Sometime during the night, Emory had flopped around and covered her face with her hair. As she snored, the hair moved up and down in the air above her mouth. Then she snored particularly loud and sucked a mouthful of hair down her throat. Instantly, she spat it out and coughed before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She smacked her lips a few times as she stretched widely. Yawning, she flopped off the bed and got ready for the day.
After showering, changing, and fixing her hair, Emory sent Tethys a message that she was leaving. She grabbed her gear since she would probably be fighting before she snapped her fingers and disappeared. A moment later, she appeared on the ground floor of the main building in Vostea. Several guards stood at the ready nearby but relaxed when they saw it was only Emory. Instead of calling Perceval using the link stone, she decided to go look for him around the outpost. As a byproduct of her training, she was starting to be able to sense others' power like a tingle on the back of her neck. Meandering around the base for a few minutes, she finally felt Perceval's presence just outside the surrounding walls. As she made her way there, she ran into Sam who joined her on the way to check him out.
Perceval was sitting on the ground, channeling his magik, when the two girls approached him. Without opening his eyes, he said softly, "Good morning, Lady Supreme and Lady Rice. Have you come to check in on this old man?"
"You say old man, but you certainly don't look as old as you did before," Emory smiled, "How are you feeling?"
He definitely looked much younger than when these two girls had visited him in his home. The skin all over his body had tightened, and his muscles were toned and well-defined even under his green and brown robe. No longer did greys streak through his long blonde hair, nor did he shake slightly when he walked. Even a soft glow emanated from his body. "I feel more refreshed than I have in centuries. And the power I have access to now is truly incredible. To think I still have only a fraction of your power is remarkable. I thought I had some idea of your magik before, Lady Supreme, but I was wrong," Perceval stretched as he stood up from the ground.
"Do you mind if I have a closer look?" Emory asked, "I'd like to see your mana pool and your core, if that's okay." Perceval nodded while Emory activated her Arcane Sight to see his core. Unlike Tethys, whose core had a shimmer coming from it, his was solid and glowing brightly like other cores she had seen. However, what surprised her the most was the color of the magik that circulated throughout his body. The Elandrian she met had a light blue tint to their magik as did all Emory's Hexblood friends while she and Ninian had a glittering gold. His magik, though, was a shiny silver color like liquid mercury. She lightly grabbed his hand as the pair closed their eyes and found themselves at the edge of Perceval's mana pool. It looked like a sizable lake, nowhere near Emory's but nearly ten times bigger than it had been before. Then the two opened their eyes again back in the real world.
Perceval questioned, "Well, what do you think?"
"It's remarkable. There are a few things that are different than the others I've seen, but I don't think that's anything to be concerned about," Emory rubbed her chin, "What about your other abilities? Or your gift?"
"I can't teleport, but I have noticed that my senses and body have become much stronger. As far as my gift is concerned, it's been rather incredible; nothing I do tires me. Yesterday, I channeled magik all day with feeling an ounce of strain," Perceval remarked with a grin.
"I guess the process is complete then," Emory nodded, "What do you say about trying it out then?"
Perceval chuckled, "I suppose that is the way we'll know whether or not I'm ready. What did you have in mind?"
"You, Sam, Myrrh, and I will take care of the rest of the Apleem on this planet," Emory solemnly answered, "With our combined power, we should be more than enough since they're all stuck on their ships anyway."
"Just the four of us? You do remember there are still over five hundred thousand Apleem left, don't you?" Sam squeaked.
"Without the army in the way, we can unleash our full power and not worry about anyone getting in the way," Emory persuaded her, "Honestly, I'm surprised Myrrh hasn't wiped them by herself; she's more than strong enough."
Perceval smirked, "I think it's a fine plan. I too want to test the limits of my new power. Lead the way, Lady Supreme." Together, the three set off for the edge of the cleared area around the outpost. As they approached, a woman made of tree bark stood smiling and seemingly waiting for them.
"Myrrh!" Emory called, "Thank you so much for taking care of my friends and people."
"I am happy to help such a loyal and benevolent goddess such as yourself," Myrrh bowed.
"We came to ask you to help us finish getting rid of the Apleem that remain on your home," Emory said calmly, "I figured between the four of us we'd have no problem dealing with the ones you already have trapped."
Myrrh smiled appreciatively, "I would welcome that. They are currently polluting the land where they docked with a method that is stealing the energy of my home. The longer we wait, the more damage they will do."
"It's just like it was on Nephenee's planet," Emory frowned, "Everyone, link hands; I'll teleport us all near their ships." Once everyone locked hands, Emory released a surge of magik, causing them all to fade in a flash of light. The next moment, they were standing at the edge of a clearing, but Myrrh immediately fell to her knees and gasped for breath.
"I think next time, I'll travel my own way," Myrrh coughed, "I lost my connection to my main body for a moment."
Emory placed her hand on Myrrh's shoulder, "I'm so sorry; I didn't think about that. Let's take a minute to survey the area and recover."
The scene looked similar to the one Emory had seen on Temia with ten dreadnoughts nose-down in the ground and black streaks extending away from the ships. However, these lines were thicker and more numerous than the ones she had seen before. Also, since there wasn't as much foliage on Temia, Emory hadn't seen how much damage the lines were doing to the plants around them, with most of the grass here brown or dead. Seeing the damage the Apleem had done in such a short period stirred up a deep anger in both Emory and Myrrh, causing waves of magik to start coming off their bodies.