PftA Book 4 - Chapter 53 - A Prelude to War

A/N: This is the last chapter of the book as it currently stands. (This will likely change before publication.) The Epilogue will be next, which will be from an alternate POV.

[Congratulations! Your timeline survived!
The catastrophic destruction of multiple timelines (including your own) has been averted by the realm guardian.
Redundant timelines have been merged or purged to strengthen those that remain, while new restrictions have been implemented to prevent future destabilization.
Linger not, Pinnacles. Your path to immortality awaits.]

“Oh, wow,” Kai gasped before his expression shifted to puzzlement. “Anya didn’t say anything about the warning to Pinnacles.”

I looked at my mentor in surprise. “Did she mention something about the timelines almost being destroyed?” I asked curiously.

“No, but she did mention that new restrictions on Time magic would be implemented,” he replied before his expression suddenly darkened. “She also mentioned the Collective would be attacking shortly after the announcement was made. I guess they have their own Fate Mages and have been waiting for this to happen.”

“Why would the restrictions matter?” I asked.

While Time magic was powerful, I didn’t see it as being something that would serve as a true deterrent if the Collective was set on invading. Besides, it wasn’t like they didn’t have Time Mages of their own.

“Because the new restriction prevents large-scale magic from being used. We won’t be able to just wave our hands and reverse the damages like we could before,” Kai replied. “At least, that’s what Anya suggested might be the reason. But until I have a chance to test a few things, I won’t know for sure how the restrictions even apply.”

“We won’t be able to use Rewind at all?” I asked, somewhat aghast.

The spell was a critical part of most adventuring Time Mages’ arsenal. It was also the spell most responsible for the crap that Time Mages had to deal with since using it outside of a domain could cause all sorts of issues.

“Rewind should still work so long as it was confined to a domain – as it already should,” he emphasized, echoing my thoughts. “But, again, I need to test things before I can be sure. Unfortunately, we don’t have time for that right now. We need to get to Council headquarters and prepare for the attacks.”

“Right now?” I asked.

“Yes. Right now. I, along with the rest of the Alliance’s Pinnacles that, I assume, have also just been summoned,” he said with a frown. “We have a couple of days, at best, before an official declaration of open war will be made. And once the declaration is made, the invasion will be imminent.”

“Anya knew about all of this in advance? Why didn’t she say anything?” I asked as I rushed to remove the ward that prevented roaming beasts from noticing us.

“Would it have changed anything?” Kai asked. “We both know Bell was going to use the formation one way or another. If you hadn’t helped her, at most, it would have only delayed things. Besides, nothing implied that her use of the formation would be the trigger for such a change.”

“Surely, Anya would have known,” I insisted.

I refused to believe that the strongest Fate Mage in the Alliance hadn’t seen the connection, especially given the warning she’d given me about hiding Bell until the heat died down.

“I honestly can’t say what my sister knows. She’s always tried to keep a bit of mystique about her. And who knows?” he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “It may even be better this way. At least now you’ll be available to help with the response.”

I groaned. This was supposed to be my vacation from the dungeon. I didn’t want to spend it fighting in yet another war.

“Look,” Kai said, holding out a hand to keep me from complaining. “You don’t have to help if you don’t want to, but the Collective is going to bring the war to us. They aren’t going to ignore you or anyone else just because you don’t want to get involved. Also…”

He hesitated, as if he didn’t know whether he should mention something.

“I’m not trying to force your hand, but from what Anya saw, the Collective is going to start by attacking cities on lower-tiered worlds. They plan to drop their people in various cities all over the Alliance with hopes of slaughtering the unsuspecting populace. No world will be safe.”

“Will they at least stick to the Accords?” I asked, hoping that they’d at least give the civilians a chance to fight back.

“The Accords don’t apply in times of war,” he reminded me. The news felt like a bucket of cold water being dumped over my head.

Of course, I knew the exceptions to low-tier murder, but I’d hoped that the Collective would continue fighting honorably. The ongoing war between the Alliance and the Collective had always adhered to the rules of the Accords. It was why they had a few worlds set aside to house the conflict away from innocent bystanders.

From what I’d learned, it wasn’t so much a true war as a stage to allow fighters to test themselves against other sapient fighters where death was a real option. While some rifts had humanoid creatures, none were truly sapient, so fighting them was not quite the same.

“Well, I guess we might as well head that way,” I said with resignation before adding hopefully, “Unless you just need me to drop you off?”

My mentor just laughed humorlessly. “No, I think it’s better that you show up and offer your assistance. We wouldn’t want anyone to connect you with the changes, now, would we?”

= = =

The lobby of the Council headquarters was a madhouse when we arrived. A crowd of powerful individuals churned with nervous tension, and a few heated exchanges threatened to erupt into violence.

“They’re all Pinnacles?” I asked with wide eyes as we tried to skirt around the edge of the crowd.

“Most of them,” Kai nodded. “Some are like you – strong enough to contribute meaningfully and important enough to be included, but they are in the minority.”

“But I didn’t get a summons,” I pointed out.

“You didn’t need one. You were with me at the time, and Anya knew you’d come.”

Fate magic, again. It really was so annoying to deal with. I hated that someone could watch my every move. It was like being stalked by invisible voyeurs.

What good was wearing a [Fate Obscuration] ring if Anya could just work around it?

“I really hate Fate magic, you know that?” I grumbled as I barely avoided a collision with someone undoubtedly stronger than me.

“You’re not alone in that,” Kai replied quietly. He slipped through the hidden back door leading to the Councilor’s chambers.

I followed my mentor silently as my mind returned to his earlier comment about being connected to the changes. His implication had really caught me off guard, though it probably shouldn’t have.

If Bell’s use of the formation I’d helped her with really had caused this mess… I didn’t even want to consider my responsibility for the deaths that were sure to come. It was like a repeat of what happened in the dungeon with the war against the Springhearts but magnified by a million.

“Good, you’re both here,” Councilor Lance said when he saw us walking down the long hallway. “Follow me. Anya wanted to talk to the two of you. Why she’s wasting critical time right now is beyond me, but who am I to question the Oracle.”

He glanced at me over his shoulder and said, “Thanks for helping her with the rift, by the way. Even if it seems your effort was ultimately in vain, I appreciate that you were willing to help us.”

“What do you mean, in vain?” I asked.

Councilor Lance sighed, and his pace slowed slightly.

“The notification came with actual pressure for Pinnacles to ascend. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to resist before it gets to be too much, and the realm forces me to ascend.”

“I feel no pressure,” Kai commented neutrally from beside me. “Perhaps the contract regarding my promised ascension is buffering the realm’s focus.”

His words were given without emotion, but I could sense the underlying hostility. Even so, his comment must have sparked something in Councilor Lance because his eyes widened slightly and filled with hope.

“It’s certainly something worth looking into. Thank you,” Councilor Lance said with more sincerity than I’d seen him show his brother-in-law.

We reached the door to Anya’s office a few moments later, and the familiar white-haired woman was standing there waiting.

“Emie! Kai! I’m glad to see you’re both doing well,” Anya said with a tense smile. A flash of distress manifested in her eyes as they passed her husband, but she hid it well.

She guided us inside. After a few pleasantries were exchanged, Councilor Lance shared Kai’s theory about contracts relieving the pressure to ascend with barely concealed excitement.

I was honestly a little surprised he managed to hold off for as long as he had. It was obvious that ascending together was important to the couple.

“I was wondering why I still saw visions of you entering the dungeon,” Anya said with a relieved smile. “I was starting to wonder if maybe you were going to use it to shelter from the pressure long enough for Emie to reach the Pinnacle.”

“Entering the dungeon?” I repeated curiously.

Kai cleared his throat uncomfortably before shooting his sister a withering look.

“It was something I’ve been considering to help alleviate your loneliness once you reach the tenth floor. I hadn’t made any definite plans.”

My chest warmed at the thought of my mentor joining me for the last leg of my journey. The loneliness really was the worst part of being in the dungeon. Having a companion to share it with would go a long way toward making the experience something more than just a slog to gain levels.

“Well, regardless,” Anya interjected as she grabbed her husband’s hand in a rare show of affection. “Your theory brings me more relief than you could know. We will test it as soon as we have a bit of free time. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening any time in the immediate future.”

“Do you have a better estimate on how long we have?” Kai asked.

“Two standard days. With Sira’s time dilation, we can stretch that to a couple of weeks.” She frowned, and a crease formed between her perfectly sculpted brows. “The Collective has obviously been preparing for this for years. They had to have started while you were still stuck in the rift. There’s no other way they could muster the kind of response I’m seeing.”

The timing roughly lined up with when Bell had devised her plan to make a formation to send her memories back in time, but that wasn’t enough for me to feel certain the events were related.

“Of course, we’re not totally unprepared. However, it’s been hard getting everyone to act when most Fate Mages are too weak to even see the threat. I’m almost certain the Collective is using some kind of large-scale Fate obscuration array. Nothing else would explain how their Sight is being completely blocked.”

“But not you?” I asked.

Anya gave me a smile I’d become familiar with during our time in the rift. It was one she used when she felt confident and superior in her prophesies.

“I’m not called The Oracle for nothing.”

“You’re amazing, Anya,” Kai said without inflection before immediately following the comment with, “So, what do you need from us?”

As the strongest Fate Mage in the Alliance explained our roles in the upcoming war, I realized that there really was no way for me to avoid the fight. One way or another, I was going to war.

I just hoped that those I loved made it through in one piece.