Phoenix barely paid attention to her [Guide Book] as she, Dazien, and Rayna moved into the melee. At the same time, Uriel and Saiya joined the other ranged attackers, which included the strange woman who had caught Phoenix’s attention earlier. Apparently, the friendly cinderen and the rest of her Crystal Caste party were adding to the fight with a variety of creatures to assist alongside the expedition. Snowbelle even joined the other Familiars and Summons by hurling acidic water at the enemies.

  Rayna and Phoenix were a blur of movement as they danced around the battlefield stabbing, punching, slicing, and kicking through any of the Crystal Caste enemies they could find while Dazien focused on locking them down with taunts, cages, and punishing foes with his holy sword.

  She could hear his overbearing incantation right before a magical cage appeared around one of the Crystal Casters that had been heading towards the backline healers, “You have forsaken my rule and thus forfeit your freedom!”

  Css Ability: To the Dungeon

  Type: Spell (construct, control, elemental, metal)

  Cost: Moderate mana.

  Cooldown: 5 minutes.

  Current Caste: Crystal 8 (95%)

  Crystal Effect: Construct a reinforced metal cage around the target for a short duration; touching the cage inflicts a burst of Metal damage.

  Uriel was also able to unleash a bit more freely here as he spread pgue and rained fire upon the enemy’s backlines near the entrance to the ruins.

  Meanwhile, Saiya sang a song of protection for them.

  Css Ability: Sonorous Shield

  Type: Spell (channel, magical, song)

  Cost: Low mana per second.

  Cooldown: None.

  Current Caste: Crystal 9 (87%)

  Crystal Effect: As you sing, nearby allies gain increased resistance to Magical damage.

  The Healer and Mage also showed their own form of synergy as Saiya triggered another ability and the pair incanted in tandem, “Let the wind sting. Let the ice bite. Let the snow freeze. Let the blizzard cim life.”

  Css Ability: Harmonize

  Type: Spell (magical, covenant, song)

  Cost: High mana.

  Cooldown: Varies.

  Current Caste: Crystal 9 (41%)

  Crystal Effect: Harmonize with an ally’s incanted spell, adding your mana to theirs to increase its effects and shorten its cooldown. This spell’s cooldown becomes the same as the targeted spell’s adjusted cooldown.

  As ice joined the fire on the distant enemies, Phoenix was reminded to cast her own ranged destroyer. Making her way to the Backline teammates to buy herself time for the longer incantation, she aimed at the temple entrance itself and recited, “From the depths of the universe, I summon forth the shards of annihition. May the wrath of the cosmos descend upon all who dare to oppose me.”

  At first, Phoenix was eted with the thrill of power she felt from casting [Meteor Shower]. The tear in the sky appeared and the burning sphere of psma and rock appeared through it to crash into the ruins, causing devastation to the area and enemies who had sought shelter within. Then, she realized that her actions came with unforeseen consequences as the enemy Emerald Caster suddenly found those on the ground to be a much more concerning threat.

  The woman Paul had called Nietra began hurling balls of fire down upon the lower Caste combatants. Their own Emerald Caste Padin was doing his best to intercept the fatal fmes, but that meant he couldn’t stop the smaller and more numerous projectiles the Purifier’s priestess was raining down upon them –striking friend and foe alike.

  Glinting metallic feathers that seemed forged from gold detached from Nietra’s wings to begin slicing through the Sapphire Caste Adventurers and completely severed limbs from the even weaker Crystal Casters.

  Dazien turned to yell towards her despite their mental link and ordered, “Phoenix! Focus on portaling people back to the Rift camp! Rayna, start helping move the most injured to the portal, and make sure someone tells Cleric Starrk about the enemy Emerald!”

  Rayna responded to the command instantly, triggering one of the more costly abilities she had in order to practically fly across the battlefield and scoop up the most injured allies furthest away from them.

  Ability: Beyond the Boundary

  Type: Utility (movement)

  Cost: Severe mana and stamina.

  Cooldown: 5 minutes.

  Current Caste: Crystal 10

  Crystal Effect: Instantly boost your speed by a massive amount, quickly declining to normal over 5 seconds.

  Phoenix complied a moment ter, downing one of her more expensive mana potion to recuperate as much mana as possible, and opening her portal nearby. She was startled by Saiya grabbing her hand as she asked in an unusual rush, “I need your help with a ritual! Do you know the more basic Warden’s Dome one?”

  She nodded, recalling one of the Mundane Rituals she had learned that could mold the earth into what she thought of as a dirt hovel. Saiya then eborated, “I probably should have shown you some other Water ones I know of earlier, but we’ve been busy. Anyways, use your talent and draw it out, and I’ll tell you where to change it, then repeat the incantation after me.”

  Phoenix nodded again and began to work as Saiya expined, all the while throwing bolts of healing Life magic towards the wounded that Rayna and Dazien were dragging towards her portal, “This version is Sapphire Caste and– No, change that part to the Water rune rather than Earth. Good. Then, next to the Warden’s rune, you’ll need to add the rune for the Mender and Arcanist; you know those ones, right?”

  She nodded again and continued her furious scribbling while Saiya continued instructing, “Good, this one is much rger and attuned to Water instead, but it will help our allies and protect the portal.”

  “Can we even do this if it’s Sapphire? Won’t it just eat through my mana and potentially kill me? I’m already pretty tapped out from the meteor and portals,” Phoenix asked without stopping.

  “That’s why I’m going to boost you with [Crescendo], and both Uriel and I will help feed it our mana as well,” Saiya responded, gncing over at Uriel, who was near enough to hear them but focused on casting his own spells to wayy the enemies.

  “Do I need to stop and reserve my mana then?” he asked through the telepathic link they currently shared.

  “Probably, yes,” Saiya replied with a bit of concern that both Phoenix and Uriel noticed. Then Saiya added as though reassuring herself as well as them, “I’m almost Sapphire Caste myself, so we should have enough to power it.”

  Phoenix continued working under Saiya’s guidance, pausing only to recast her portal when needed. She was briefly interrupted when a stray bolt of ice struck her shoulder, and colteral damage continued to pile up on both sides. The immediate healing from Saiya, combined with the sight of another Crystal Caste ally being immoted by an Emerald Caste fireball, brought Phoenix’s focus back to completing the ritual circle.

  Once it was done, she took Saiya’s furred hand in one of hers and Uriel’s volcanic one in her other, with all three of them reciting the words Saiya had instructed, “From the healing waters of the Mender to the shielding earth of the Warden, may the Arcanist weave the two to bring refuge to the allies seeking safety from the onsught beyond.”

  A ripple of power spread out from the trio, and she felt the draining of her mana as a semi-transparent dome of water grew out from her circle to encompass a rge portion of the area, which included the portal people had begun retreating through. Even some of the less zealous enemies had begun willingly surrendering if it meant escaping with their lives from the crazy Priestess who was supposed to be their ally.

  Saiya, Uriel, and Phoenix all stumbled slightly as the above-Caste ritual took its toll on their mana, but she was pleased that they hadn’t seemed completely drained, and both she and Uriel triggered their mana-restoring tattoos.

  The recoil effect of [Crescendo] alone wasn’t too difficult to deal with. Phoenix was definitely weaker than normal, but it wasn’t as bad as her dragon form, and it definitely wasn’t as bad as when she stacked both of those with the Magi Fortune Booster. She knew it would only be about two minutes for this particur weakening effect to dissipate completely.

  Saiya drank a mana potion from one of the dimensional pouches at her hip –which was more efficient at holding potions specifically– before resuming her healing of the injured allies that managed to cross the watery barrier.

  Then Saiya cast her rgest area heal, “Let the waters of life rain their blessings from the watchful sky above us.”

  Css Ability: Rain of Life

  Type: Spell (elemental, magical, life, water)

  Cost: High mana.

  Cooldown: 1 hour.

  Current Caste: Crystal 9 (54%)

  Crystal Effect: Create an area of healing rain that greatly increases the regeneration rate of allies within it.

  Phoenix took those weakened minutes to rest between Saiya and Uriel as the rain washed over them all. She only used the mana her [Astral Oasis] aura helped regenerate during that time to focus on opening the next portal. As the battle on the ground waned, with many retreating through the portal, Phoenix spared a gnce skyward.

  Her mentor was still struggling to protect them all while attempting to nd blows on the aerial enemy. Phoenix found herself giving a silent prayer to any of the gods’ marks she bore, asking them to keep the man she trusted above all others alive long enough to actually become her family.

  Everin Starrk realized something had gone wrong as soon as the portal appeared in their midst. The younger voxen he recognized as Lady Rayna Dewsong came through, dragging four other Crystal Casters –one in each of her hands and another wrapped in each of her armored tails.

  He was beside her in an instant, using one of his few direct healing abilities and asking what had happened. Rayna’s answer was short and simple, which he appreciated at the moment, though it wasn’t his usual preference in a conversational partner, “They have an Emerald Caster. Some flying priestess that likes to shoot fireballs and feathers like throwing knives.”

  He nodded and responded, “I’ll take these ones from here, you go get more. I can’t go through Phoenix’s portal till she levels it to Sapphire 5, I believe, if it’s like most.”

  Rayna nodded and quickly ducked back through the portal as another injured ally walked through. Everin began barking out orders on his side to the other healers and Adventurers to begin receiving their retreating forces, ending with a frustrated command, “And somebody get a Sapphire Portalist over there!”

  Everin scooped up the allies the bard had dropped off to get them out of the way, using only four of his five soft white tails to take them toward the clinic area. He was gd he had already set it up in the event something like this occurred.

  Gncing in the direction he could sense the Chosen One in, he was grateful that he could still feel her even from this distance. He contempted joining her and the intriguing Lord Padin in the battle, but a voice that was both a comfort and an exhiration whispered into his mind, “You won’t make it in time. Stay and cover them from here.”

  He was only slightly surprised by the presence of his goddess remaining in the back of his mind and mentally prayed back, “So the Soul Mark worked then? This reality is now one of yours?”

  “So it is. Is that doubt you had in my words?” the feminine voice asked, sounding both amused and slightly miffed.

  “Not in your words, Rebel. Only in my own mortal understanding,” he replied, not keeping the slight grin from his face, which seemed to garner some dirty looks from those around him who were working hard to respond to the influx of injured.

  “Keep an eye on our little revolutionist but do not interfere. We need her to grow without crutches for every challenge. Luckily, death won’t be a concern in her case.”

  Everin’s smile did vanish at that, repced with a grimace as he responded, “Some things are worse than death. I’m not sure refusing to interfere is always the best course of action. We don’t want her breaking so much that death would be the better alternative.”

  “Perhaps. I’ll leave it to your judgment. Though you should heed my guidance, Cleric.”

  He absently nodded and his gaze fell upon another healer of Sapphire Caste who was watching him carefully, as though trying to confirm something. Everin was about to ask the runeforged if he needed assistance, but the man turned to look towards the direction he could feel Phoenix in and then pointedly stared back at him.

  That was when he noticed the priestly adornments on the darker man’s green battle robes, which didn’t contrast well with the magenta metallic markings on the runeforged skin. The symbols marked him as a servant of the Cultivator, and Everin suddenly understood what the young man was trying to confirm.

  “She’ll be fine,” he said to him, looking away to tend to more of the wounded that were making their way in, “Trust that our deities chose wisely and help now by supporting from afar.”

  The young priest nodded and began assisting where avaible while Everin found himself hoping that his words wouldn’t be proven wrong.