Supreme Magus

"No." Kamila's voice went from surprise to worry.

"Tampering with the barrier is a capital crime. I am certain there is no detector array because the barrier already includes one that warns us if the Shadows breach through or if the Black Star is about to escape. Can you show it to me?"

Lith chanted an array revealing spell, aiming it precisely at the red string. It made the hidden formation visible. It surrounded the whole barrier while remaining at its fringes.

"I can't believe no one ever noticed it, nor that you also know Warden magic. Do you even sleep at night?"

Lith would have liked to flirt with her a bit, but saying something like: "Only when the company isn't good" on the army communicator could lead his superiors to change his handler with a middle aged man with a deep love for beer and cheese.

"Sometimes." He replied while smirking. Kamila's full body 3D hologram appeared from the amulet to take a better look at the situation. She was wearing a white shirt and a pencil skirt that emphasized her slender legs.

"I'll report this immediately. I recognize the design. Whoever left it, gets notified every time the barrier is opened. It represents a breach of classified information like the schedule of the cleansings and the Rangers' patrol frequency. Great job spotting it."

Lith was aware that without Life Vision or mana sense, the extra array would have been as good as invisible. Its presence added another unknown variable to the scenario.

'With my luck, the b*stard is already keeping an eye on me.'

His grumblings were interrupted when the vapors surrounding the Black Star disappeared, leaving in its place a miniature sun. Wherever its rays shone, the buildings rebuilt themselves while the Shadows were slowly turned back into humans.

The blackness of their features was washed away on the ground until it became a normal shadow, following rather than possessing the body which projected it.

"Time to go in." Lith returned to his starting point, right in front of the farm belonging to the man that had weaved at him an hour earlier. He chanted the spell that released the barrier, slipping inside before it closed behind him.

The farmer looked at him with a surprised expression for a second.

<"How did you get in, stranger?"> The man said.

Lith smiled and waved at him while pretending to have understood his words.

'Dammit. Why there is no translate spell or a convenient mind link when you need it? Things would be much easier if we were able to communicate.'

Lith's plan was simple. He would always pick the same entry point and start killing from the inside of the city. That way, he would notice if the humans retained a memory between cycles based on their reactions, while leaving the inhabitants of the outer rims neutral to his presence.

If he started attacking from the outer rim instead, he would meet increasing resistance with each assault he launched and his chances of studying the phenomenons related to the Dark Star would be zero.

***

Hundreds of kilometers away, location unknown.

The opening of the barrier surrounding Kaduria activated the red array, which signaled to its owner by lighting a small gem on one of his many bracelets.

"Another Ranger already? It took me quite some effort to convince the last one to leave the Black Star alone. Let's hope this one is more reasonable. I'll make him an offer he can't refuse..."

"Nice. Now you not only keep messing with Tyris's turf, but also you talk to yourself. I regret having Awakened you more with each passing day." An old voice filled with contempt cut the younger one short.

"You sound and act like a madman. You should study magic instead of meddling with forces you do not understand."

"I'm not mad, uncle!" The array's owner replied with a high pitched voice. "Madness is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. By following your method, I'll become as powerful as you at best..."

"You wish." Said the older voice with a sneer.

"...and by that time, I'd be an old coot that has wasted his whole life amassing power instead of using it!" The young Awakened's tone was filled with outrage.

"There are no shortcuts to power, Treius. Only to your own ruin."

Treius ignored his uncle's words, opening a Warp Gate that would lead him to Kaduria in no time.

***

Lith walked past the farmer, replying to his barrage of gibberish with a smile and a nod of the head.

'I could knock him down and steal his clothes to go unnoticed. The problem is I have no idea if they will become a shadow too once the next phase begins nor what could they do to my Skinwalker armor.'

Like the rest of the city, the high walls surrounding it were of a pristine white. There were guard stations near the massive gate leading inside Kaduria, but they were both empty. There was no one patrolling along the rampart, nor archers inside the hidden alcoves in the wall.

The weather was mild enough for everyone to wear short sleeves. Many people stared at Lith, pointing their fingers at his heavy clothes. He hid in a corner, to make his Skinwalker armor take the appearance of his farmer outfit.

The city was bustling with activity. Some people moved goods to and fro the inner rims, others were assembling in a procession until all the houses were empty. No one locked doors or windows.

Lith Blinked from one alley to another, walking only when the crowd was big and busy enough that no one would notice his passage. He tried listening to their conversations, but none of the words they used was recorded in the books inside Soluspedia.

Once he reached the merchant district, Lith understood that something was wrong with the city. Despite the sunny day and the many people coming from the outer rim, all the stalls were closed except for some food vendors.

They wouldn't even ask for money. They just offered their products to whoever stood in front of them. The smell of grilled vegetables and meat made Lith's mouth watery, until he imagined them turning into shadows and ripping his stomach from the inside.

'I don't know what's happening, but I have an idea about what the light phase is for.' Solus pondered after Lith Blinked to a vantage point to better observe the cascade of energy going from the castle to the ground.

'In their human form, the Kandurians have a mana core, but they all start almost grey. The whole city is a lie. The Black Star is using them to fool Mogar into believing there is life to nurture.

'The spires are siphoning the mana geyser to slow down the cores' recovery process while amplifying the collected power thanks to the crystals' resonance with the world energy. Those people are like fruits. They ripen over time, until the Black Star gathers all the energy for its next attempt to escape.'

'Then why killing the fake Kandurians twice weakens the cursed object? Can't it just create more puppets?' Lith considered the implications of Solus's word from multiple angles. Even the method of choice to supply the barrier was now twice as ingenious.

'I don't think they are fake. Only living beings have mana cores. By destroying their bodies, the army forces the Black Star to consume part of his powers to restore them. Those people are nothing but a flesh rope in a tug of war between the Kingdom and the Black star.'