Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Consequences

Lysette opened her eyes and was surprised to find herself alive, conscious, and back, seemingly safe and sound, in her home back in Ciricu.  She pinched herself, and after trying a bit harder than she’d expected, she felt the barest twinges of pain among her arm.  She sat up, again with no difficulty, and when the morning sun caressed her skin, it felt warm and comforting in a way she’d not felt in a very long time.

Lysette rubbed her skin and extended out her aura to scan the room.  She was surprised at that.  Her aurasight was a bit less detailed than before, but other than that, it still worked as expected.  As did her Ice techniques bestowed upon her by Mirae.  But she was completely unable either to manipulate shadows or dissolve her form into the same.

She tried several times to trigger that impulse, to will her body into incorporeality, but every time, her body clung stubbornly to its physical form.  Finally, after about five minutes of trying to do so with no success, she realized what had happened.

This was the consequence of losing the favor of the Goddess of Darkness.  A quick peek in her Cultivation realm had confirmed it— an entire branch of her Tree had been pruned.  Or, more accurately, it had been removed in such a way that it was as though it had never existed to begin with.

Still, though her combat prowess and stealth abilities were somewhat mitigated, the damage was far from insurmountable.  She still had more than enough Divine Essence to remain a demigoddess, and more than enough ordinary Essence to remain a powerful fighter.  As a demigoddess, she retained her connection to her Reciprocity, which had intensified yet further during the events of the previous night.  And her pacts with Serrena and Mirae continued to enhance her strength with their own and the resonance between their respective divinities.

All her other techniques— her Ice Wings, Reciprocity Dominion, Rekindle, Aura of Intimidation, and her new ability to animate and accelerate the growth of plant life— remained intact.  By cutting herself with a small shard of ice, she confirmed that her preternatural regeneration was intact and intuited that her poison resistance was as well.  So too did the Scrying Stone and her teleportation matrix continue to work, although she could no longer shroud the former in conjured darkness.

Finally, her telepathic communication worked as well, which she immediately tested by contacting Mirae.

Considering the gravity of her actions and the fact that she had resolved to sacrifice herself to save the people of Ciricu, the actual consequences she bore were generous.  Her resolve to protect them was stronger than ever, though, with her combat capabilities somewhat lessened, she knew hard work would be necessary to bridge the gap.

And she was relieved for another reason.  Although Zarielle was able to remove Lysette’s ability to manipulate darkness, she couldn’t crush Lysette’s Cultivation completely, which implied that Lysette could not do so to her own followers.  Although the ability to do so could be useful, it was far too morally ambiguous for her to feel comfortable being able to do so.  She could remove any techniques of Reciprocity directly bestowed by her.  And take back the strength she had infused into her followers, most likely.  But completely destroying their Cultivation, it appeared not.  

The door opened, and Mirae nearly tackled Lysette to the ground as they clutched her in their embrace.  Lysette wrapped her arms around Mirae and buried her face in their chest.

“Love, I know what you’re going to say, and I’m sorry.  If we’d had more time to figure something out, or if I’d been better with negotiation, or was a little stronger, we might’ve–”

“That wasn’t what I was going to say at all, Lysette.  I was going to say that you are a true heroine and that your willingness to sacrifice yourself like that for the sake of others exemplifies exactly what a goddess should aspire to be.  Also that I love you and I’m glad to see you’re finally awake.”

“Alright, Mirae.  Lay it on me.  How long was I out this time?”

“Eight hours?  Maybe a bit less?”

Lysette laughed.  “I nearly died falling from who even knows how high up, and I’m not even out a full day this time around?  I must be more durable than I’d thought.”

“Well, you have Serrena and I to thank for that, love.  Serrena noticed you barreling down to the surface after Zarielle exploded, and the two of us were able to intercept you as you fell.  It was certainly more than a bit scary, and you were in rough shape after the explosion, but after everything you’ve already been through, I had faith in my Goddess that she would live through it.  A number of people were awakened by the explosion as well, and I think their prayers might have helped pull you through.”

“They’re not mad at us for not telling them?  Are they?”

“Some of them are upset that they weren’t warned.  But once we explained exactly what had happened, who we were fighting, and our reasons for not informing them, they were mostly understanding.”

“Mostly?”

“A couple of people are grumbling still, saying that we brought a war to them that they wanted no part of.”

“I–  That’s true, but…”

“I know.  I saw what happened to your hometown.  I experienced what happened to Domark.  Twice.  War is spreading across Aimarion, and no town is safe from its ravages.  All we did is perhaps bring it to Ciricu a bit faster than most, but that’s not how the townspeople will see it.”

“I know.”

“So please don’t beat yourself up over it.

“Mirae, I need to warn you.  I lost my abilities to manipulate darkness and shadow.  So I’ll have to relearn how to fight.”

Mirae chuckled.  “Well, I know one Demigoddess of Ambition who’s probably going to be unhealthily gleeful at hearing that.”

Lysette joined them.  “Well, we should probably tell her as soon as possible.  There’s no one I trust more to help me refine my fighting style.”

“If I know her, she and Rayleigh are up in the foothills, training just like they do every morning.  C’mon, let’s get going already!”

Lysette cocked an eyebrow.  “Mirae love, you seem a lot more eager than I’d expect from you.  I could’ve sworn you’d be the one telling me to rest, to focus on healing before I rush into battle again.”

“I would, and maybe even should be telling you exactly that.  But after fighting Zarielle, I know how close the specter of war really is.  And just how far we have to go, knowing that we only barely survived fighting her avatar.”

The two made their way out of town, stopping a few times to greet the villagers and assuage some of the lingering concerns that Mirae had mentioned earlier.  After about an hour of discussions with the townsfolk and a brief exchange with Captain Potani that went nowhere, the two made their way to the south and into the foothills.

It didn’t take long to find Serrena— her blazing aura shined like a beacon even in broad daylight, and the tempestuous winds surrounding Rayleigh only made it easier still.  But rather than sparring or Cultivating as Lysette had expected, the two were standing side by side, hands clasped, each wielding their element and attempting to mix the two together.

Serrena conjured a flaming orb with her right hand, holding it out in front of the pair.  And Rayleigh compressed it by squeezing it within a bubble of hyper-pressurized air.  As it condensed, it grew brighter and hotter, almost like a miniature sun.  Even at a distance of eighty yards, the heat was noticeable, and as Lysette and Mirae halved that distance, the heat grew so great that a bead of sweat glistened upon Mirae’s forehead.

The two waited and watched from a safe distance.  Serrena continued pushing the combination technique with everything she had, but Rayleigh was faltering, breathing heavily and quivering slightly from the intensity of the heat and pressure.

The collapse was explosive.  The ball of condensed flame erupted with cataclysmic force, sending rock and debris flying in myriad directions.  Lysette briefly tried to conjure shadows to protect herself out of instinct, but quickly shifted to drawing twin Ice Blades and slicing through the rocky shrapnel assailing her and Mirae.  Mirae followed suit, and together, the swordfighter lovers escaped no worse for the trouble.

Serrena likewise was uninjured, but Rayleigh coughed up blood and staggered to the ground.  Lysette rushed over to the pair and, without waiting for acknowledgement by either, pulsed her regenerative aura to heal Rayleigh.

She got up and leered at Lysette.  “I didn’t ask for your help.”

Serrena glared back at Rayleigh.  Rayleigh gave a sheepish look, then lowered her head and nodded slightly.

“But, thank you.  It’s been tough, getting adjusted to the whole ‘working with others instead of competing with them’ thing.”

“It wasn’t any easier for me,” Serrena said.  She chuckled.  “Anyway, glad to see the two of you up and about.  How are you feeling after last night?”

“Well, all things considered.  I actually came up to see if you could help out with something.”

Serrena pointed at Mirae.  “Shouldn’t you be asking them?”

“They don’t have your tactical acumen, and I’m afraid if I ask them to train, one or both of us would take it easy on the other.”

Serrena perked up.  “I’m intrigued.  Any particular reason you want to spar this morning?  Or do you just have some pent-up aggression after last night?”

“Not aggression but…”  Lysette paused.  “Rayleigh, I don’t mind you knowing this, but I’d rather you keep this from anyone other than the four of us.  I think it might cause some mistrust and worry if it got out widely, especially among the townsfolk.”

Rayleigh rolled her eyes, but after Serrena shot her a glare, she nodded.

Lysette began.  “Last night, the three of us fought an incarnation of Zarielle, Goddess of Darkness.”

“Wait, you actually fought a goddess?  And survived?  I know the three of you claimed to be demigoddesses yourself–”  She looked at Mirae.  “Demigods, sorry.”

Mirae and Lysette shared a brief telepathic sound of bemusement.  “Apology accepted.”

“Anyway, I know you said you were all demigods, and something deep inside me knows that not one of you is lying.  But still, fighting a god and not just surviving, but up and about and not even injured?  That’s… unbelievable.”

“We fought an incarnation of her, not her real body.  In order to prevent the gods from destroying the world again, they limited their ability to directly intervene in the world.  They can only manifest their presence through avatars, and only then for short periods of time.  And even then, it is difficult for them to do so except at the times when their power is peaking.  For Zarielle, this means at midnight on the night of the new moon.”

“So, will we have to prepare for another attack next month?”

“Honestly, Rayleigh?  We should be preparing for attacks by the gods and their accomplices at any time.  I think that’s why Serrena is pushing you so hard during training.”

“No.”  Rayleigh grinned.  “My Goddess does not push me so hard because we need to prepare for the fights to come.  She pushes me to such an extent because bettering oneself, pushing oneself right up to and then past their limits is at the very core of her Ambition.  And I share her Ambition.

“Even if she is now a deity, the fact that she and Mirae are deities when you both were human a year ago?  It means it’s possible for me to become the same.  And knowing that, how can I not strive for the same for myself?  I didn’t let her natural talent stop me from pushing myself to surpass her before, and I’m not going to let her divinity stop me now.”

“Well said, Rayleigh,” Serrena said.  “Anyway, Lyse, did something happen that you were trying to tell me?”

“Yes.  I lost my ability to manipulate darkness and dissolve into shadows along with Zarielle’s blessing.  I was hoping I could borrow Serrena for a sparring session, so I can acclimate to fighting without the former bedrock of my fighting style.”

“Zarielle’s blessing?” Rayleigh asked.

“I… suppose you could say I used to work for her.  Got fired after our dispute.”

Rayleigh chuckled.

“Alright, Lyse.  I accept your challenge.  But I won’t go easy on you, either!”

“I know.  That’s why I asked.”

Chapter 195: https://www.patreon.com/posts/111216666

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/table-of-101896170

Chapter 197: https://www.patreon.com/posts/111625030