After half a day of travel, the others were tired of the deep ocean, and I couldn't blame them. There was a limit to how much you could enjoy the various shades of blue and green before it became boring. I was about to order us to stop and find somewhere to rest for the night when something changed. There was a pull, almost like something had reached out and grabbed me and was trying to yank me to it.

  The sensation was stronger than just anything else I could remember. Gasps and shouts of surprise filled the air as I changed our course and doubled our speed. The ship lurched forward just before we shot forward. The closer we got the more obvious the path became. It felt like a path that I had tread hundreds of times before. Still, I wasn't sure why.

  "Amari!?" Xerxes voice slamming into my mind stunned me just long enough to calm me down.

  I took several calming breaths and surveyed the room. A room that was not staring at me like I had grown a second head. Which with my track record with increasing new limbs was still possible. "Uh, right there is something good in this direction." I leaned back in my chair and did my best to put on a dignified expression. Something that wasn't working very well. The looks on their faces ranged from irritation to fear and shock. With greed slowly replacing the other three.

  I pushed spiritual energy into the Eye of Heaven to see further and further ahead. Even with the boost it took nearly thirty minutes for me to find out where we were going. There was a trench. Well, to call it a trench was to call the Empire State a building. It was true but it in no way captured the majesty of what I was seeing. It looked like an angry god had split the—"Earth" The realization hit me like a truck.

  "I think it's the Mariana trench." I made the executive decision not to mention the other thought going through my mind. I had no we all had assumed that the System's arrival was the first time Earth had spiritual energy. What if that was wrong? What if Earth had been the site of a battle. One that carved a gash deep in the ocean? It was as if that thought had caused the world to awaken. Suddenly a black and grey mist bubbled out of the trench.

  The mist consumed everything it came across. My danger sense left to no doubt that it was dangerous. Could we run? No, it was too fast way too fast even if we abandoned everything else we couldn't make it. Xerxes and I might be able to. Trey as well if his wings could work underwater. I banished that thought from my mind. These were my people and there was no way in this world or any other I would just abandon them. I made the move to stop the ship and started giving out orders.

  We are about to come under attack. Divert everything into the ship's shields and repair functions. Anyone with a defensive skill that could defend the ship joins me everyone else gets into the lower deck and brace. "Xerxes something is coming. Get ready to do what you can."

  I felt his indignation at being sidelined but I paid it no mind. He didn't have any skill that could help and if the ship broke then...well it would be up to them. I sighed as everyone left the command center. "We've got to get better skills for everyone." I grinned bitterly as I walked to the glass window. I could see it with my normal eyes now. Just looking at it made my skin crawl.

  "I am willing to help."

  I gestured for him to come. His golden armor was back to its original splendor which only made me laugh. "You don't have to."

  Romulus raised his spear as his spiritual energy surged. "I know. How could I hide when something was about to attack. Surely—"

  I raised a hand to stop what he was about to say. It wasn't that I didn't want to hear it. I just didn't care. "Everyone makes their own decisions."

  Romulus paused for a moment and then laughed. His voice filled the command room and I couldn't help but join him. In the next moment, a golden wall appeared. The wall was every bit the equal to Psychic Aegis in size. The center of the wall held a golden sun that banished the darkness. The light clearly wasn't natural. Even the shadows behind us disappeared as if his skill refused the existence of any darkness. Further, the wall felt majestic like it held the will of an army, the will to be unbroken. Despite how powerful it felt I could tell it would be no match for the mist.

  Of course, that was why I was here. I activated Psychic Aegis and an indigo wall joined the golden one. We both imbued our spells with the Tao and their splendor doubled. It was as if a divide had been formed. One that would allow no transgression. The mist surged forward undaunted. The two clashed and for a moment the world stood still. It was as if someone had pressed pause on the movie. The eerie calm lasted for less than a second before we were forced back a step. The mist slammed into both walls at the same time.

  My connection to the ship's arrays broke in the next moment as cracks began to form. The mist attempted to seize on the weakness but how could it be that easy to defeat a shield I create? I doubled the flow of spiritual energy into the spell. Even then it was barely enough to maintain the status quo. A status quo that was on the edge of being broken as Romulus' buckled. His golden wall began to fade into a pale yellow as more and more cracks formed.

  Romulus collapsed to one knee as blood dripped down his face. Still, he hadn't given up. I took a step forward and widened Psychic Aegis a second before Romulus' skill shattered. Pure agony shot through me as I was forced to take the full force of the mist. Intellect Fortress kicked in a moment later as my mind was scoured as if trapped in a desert storm. Something that I assumed was blood dripped down my nose as Psychic Aegis began to crack.

  I pushed more energy and Tao into the shield but it was like trying to repair a dam with my bare hands. My mind raced as I came up with and discarded idea after idea until only one was left. I couldn't help but laugh as I made my decision. A small tendril of spiritual energy entered the mark on my chest. A moment later golden lines began to spread across my skin. It was time to test just how good this gift was.

  ---

  Monster. He is a monster. That was the only thought going through Romulus' mind as he watched something that should've been impossible. If Sol's Barrier couldn't deal with that evil gas then there was no way anything else should. Yet not only was he doing it, he was doing it on his own. Still, it wasn't enough. Even with all his power it wasn't strong enough. He looked over at the command chair but discarded the idea. He hadn't been given permission to access the arrays and he had no idea how to pilot this place. The time it would take to learn would likely mean the battle was over. Instead, Romulus got back to his feet and prepared to unleash as many attacks as he could. He wasn't sure if this mist could even be attacked but it was better than standing here.

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  It was better than hiding like a coward below deck. Just as he was about to begin his assault a golden light bathed the command center. For a moment he thought that a God of Light had arrived but that wasn't it. No, the light was coming from Amari. A series of weird lines crawled across the skin like heavenly tattoos. The whole thing distorted his features into something inhuman. Just as he was wrapping his mind around that something new happened. He stared in dumb confusion. He knew that whatever skill Amari had used was on at last legs a second ago. So why had the shield found new life? Not only that it was pushing back the mist.

  The absurdity of the scene caused his spiritual energy to stop in his channels. Had he been holding back? It was hard to tell exactly but if he had this kind of power forget about conquering Earth. He could destroy it. He wasn't even straining anymore. He looked more like a child who was disgusted with his toys.

  "You have to have something more than this."

  Romulus' blood ran cold as Amari began to speak. His voice was the same only the tone was different. The man had always been overconfident but this was a sadistic disdain. Romulus took a step back which was the wrong choice. Amari's head snapped toward him as killing intent exploded outward with so much force that the ship strained. It almost sounded like it was crying. "Don't move."

  I couldn't tell if he was trying to reassure me with his smile but it felt more disconcerting than anything else. He turned his attention to the black mist and suddenly the ocean cracked. Romulus stared in abject confusion as space just broke. At first, he thought something had gone wrong and the window was broken but that wasn't the case. The crack then shot forward into the mist, carving a chunk out of it. The process repeated itself until the mist had been reduced to barely a handful.

  "Wha-what?" Romulus regained the ability to speak as a sphere of grey surrounded the mist and condensed down until it was the size of an apple.

  "That was fun. Not all that tough though. I wonder if there's more of it?" Amari continued as the ship came alive. One of its collector arms reached out and grabbed the sphere. A few moments later the sphere was inside the ship and floating to him.

  "Wait what are you?—" Romulus had only taken a step forward before Amari had placed the mist against his chest. The black and grey mass was drawn into a spot just above his heart. He then stumbled forward a step as the golden lines grew deeper. "Are you alright?"

  Amari grinned and rolled his neck. "I feel amazing. Powerful I could ri—" Suddenly his entire body spasmed and he dropped to his knees. The golden lines retreated as if they had been struck by something. The golden light faded so quickly that Romulus wasn't sure they had ever been there. Amari fell face-first onto the ground and the command center went utterly still.

  "Amari?" Romulus ran forward his spear clattering to the ground as he checked for a pulse. Once he confirmed he was alive he started CPR. "I need help from anyone that can heal!" Romulus' voice boomed as he infused his voice with spiritual energy. When he finally heard footsteps approaching he let out a sigh of relief and irritation. Until he looked up and saw the face of a massive Qilin staring at him.

  Romulus refused to tear his gaze away from the beast as he considered his options. There was no way he could get the spear, not without getting a back full of flames first. Further, he wasn't sure any of his skills would be enough to stop the thing. Whatever they had done in the Tower a week ago had made the thing as strong as Amari if not more so. Just as he was about to take his chances Trey and Aaliyah entered the room.

  The former had a pair of fireballs floating around him. "What happened?" Trey asked. "Someone check on him. If you have healing skills!"

  Romulus half expected everyone to ignore the child but they didn't. If anything they looked to him for instruction. A trio made their way over. They wore a weird combination of robes and doctor's jackets. "Excuse us. I don't believe CPR is going to be much help." One of them, their leader, a man in his early fifties with a salt-and-pepper beard began. He gestured to the other two with him who activated skills.

  "I am going to assume that you are not the person who hurt him. Would you mind explaining what happened here?" Romulus was about to recite what happened when the man held up a hand. "Not to me. We are simple healers it is the trio over there that will have the questions. For your sake, I hope that you have good ones. Xerxes is not known for patience or much of any kindness when his master isn't around."

  Romulus nodded, took a steadying breath, and then collected his spear. When he was ready he made his way over to Trey and the others. "I came to the command room to help with the ship's defense."

  "We are aware," Aaliyah said curtly. "Yet you are the one still standing while he is not."

  "That is because he did something. His skin glowed a gold color as weird—"

  "Enough. Do not talk about that anymore."

  "What happened after the lights," Trey asked.

  "He managed to disperse a strange black and grey mist. It was the mist that had attacked. I don't know how or why it did but Amari managed to cut it into pieces and then pulled a portion of it into the ship." Romulus paused expecting some interruption or question but when none came he continued. "He then absorbed it. They changed and then he seemed fine. We talked for a moment and then he spasmed. After that, he dropped."

  The Qilin growled and took a step forward before he walked off. He walked over to the still-unconscious Amari and placed his snout against his chest. Romulus watched the strange pair until the old doctor walked over. "From what we can see he will be fine. His body is dealing with whatever happened faster than any human could. Or rather faster than any used to be able to. We can assist with various skills but I am not sure the additional help is needed. It may be better to let his recovery occur naturally."

  "If we don't have him it will be difficult to navigate." Aaliyah offered.

  "Yeah but if we go further and encounter this mist or something else we would be like a lamb to the slaughter," Trey responded.

  The duo went back and forth for a few minutes before they settled on a course of action. "Let him rest for two hours. Assuming we are still alive we will set out then. Everyone else should return to their positions and get back to work." Aaliyah spread the word while Trey helped lay Amari across Xerxes back. Master and Beast then left the command room. Romulus stayed silent not entirely sure what he should do.

  Just as he was about to leave Aaliyah called to him. He turned just in time to catch a grey sack. "He isn't awake but I am willing to bet he would want to pay you for your help. Those spirit stones aren't much but they should be enough to get you a level or two."

  "You don't have to—" Romulus began but once again he was cut off.

  "Accept it. If you hadn't gone to help who knows what would have happened. I don't know much about the abilities of the others here but I find it hard to believe no one else had a shield-type skill. Yet you came to help. I appreciate that."

  Romulus nodded and placed the sack into his storage ring. "Well if there is anything I can do to help don't hesitate to ask. I am very interested in seeing what happens next."

  From there Romulus left the command room and made his way to his room. Once inside he shut the door and sat on the bed. The room was sparse but surprisingly comfortable. At first, he thought the lack of dedicated cultivation space would be a problem but between the superior energy in the ocean and the isolation arrays, it wasn't bad. He summoned the sack of spirit stones from his ring and smiled. They were only realm stones which would make them more valuable as a trade tool but that was fine. Especially since this was effectively a massive treasure hunt. There were ten which would be enough for one level possibly two if he wasn't forced to use any skills for the foreseeable future.

  He pulled out a pair of spirit stones and left the rest on the bed. He shattered one stone and kept the other in his free hand. The surge in energy density felt like a refreshing rain. He knew the sensation wouldn't last long but it would be enough. He closed his eyes and cycled his cultivation technique. Energy surged into his dantian and he smiled. Cooperation was much better than antagonizing that monster.