Fei nodded. “I’m ready. Um, which should I pick? I know you went for the amethyst first.” She gave him an odd look.
“That would have been my first choice if you had your original speed enhancement,” Nathan explained. “Amethysts provide their Champions with greatly enhanced strength, martial ability, and raw power. You would be able to move like the wind and cut through a mountain.”
Fei’s eyes widened. Her fingers twitched. Was she thinking about Tarako again, the nine-tailed fox who could slash nine times at once?
“And the others?” Fei asked quietly.
“Diamonds are flexible. However you want to boost your physical abilities, a diamond can do it. That’s why they’re the most common gem for physical fighters.”
“Common,” Fei repeated. She sounded disappointed.
“Because a diamond can do anything. You can make yourself strong enough to slice through an inch of enchanted steel with your first gem; immune to pain with your second gem; and gain the ability to sweep aside entire companies of soldiers with your third,” Nathan explained.
He left out that the diamond was the “jack of all trades, master of none” gem. It did anything almost any physically focused gem did, but slightly worse. An amethyst hit harder; a sapphire provided more powerful abilities; a topaz broke the sound barrier. But a diamond could do all of those things.
The exception was durability. The defensive abilities of diamonds were second-to-none. Immunity to pain. Resilience to powerful blows. Barrier projection for the Champion and their allies. Removal of the need to eat or sleep.
Nathan doubted that Fei was interested in durability, however.
“But lots of Champions have diamonds, don’t they?” Fei asked.
Vera interrupted, “I don’t think you should pick your gem based on what others are using. Shouldn’t it be about what you want and what suits you best?”
Fei nodded slowly, but her tail stopped moving and she twisted her hands together.
Had she always been so sensitive about this sort of thing, Nathan wondered.
“There’s also the sapphire,” Nathan said. Fei’s ears pricked up. “Although it’s typically used for spellblade Champions and a certain type of sorcerer, there’s nothing to say that you can’t use it.”
“Um, but I can’t use sorcery? Or any magic at all,” Fei said.
“The gem will take care of that.” Nathan waved off her concern. “Sapphires are entirely concerned about gem abilities. That is, granting you magical abilities on top of what you can already do. Common examples for physical fighters are to wreath their sword in flames; to become immune to or even counter weaker magic; or even short-range instant teleportation.”
Fei’s eyes widened. “Eh? I could do that sort of thing?”
“The cost is that sapphires don’t increase your physical abilities directly. Amethysts and diamonds strengthen your body, on top of your enhancement. But gem abilities have to be activated and used. And they also drain your gem’s power reserves faster. That Federation Champion was probably running low when she ran away.”
“Oh. Is that why she appeared weaker than I thought?” Fei bit her lip. “So she could control shadows, but wasn’t as physically powerful?”
“That’s right. An onyx is an odd gem choice for a Champion. Better suited for an assassin than a front-line fighter.” Nathan saw Fei’s concern growing and added, “But a sapphire is different. Think of it as a way to become a spellblade, without learning sorcery.”
Fei nodded, but remained silent. She stared at the three gemstones in Nathan’s hand. Her full attention was on them.
“If only I could test out one gem and change later,” Fei muttered.
“Unfortunately, there’s no known way to do that,” Nathan said. And no way was ever discovered in the future. “I’ll leave the three gems here. Maybe you’ll feel something from them.”
“I haven’t over the past few days,” Fei said.
“Well, maybe today is different.”
Not that Nathan believed in that. He had always suspected that the idea of Champions “feeling” their future through a gemstone was because their Bastion rigged the gem to react to their touch and trick them. None of his Champions had ever responded to them.
After placing the gems on a nearby table, Nathan took a short walk with Vera.
“Have you activated your gateway yet?” he asked.
“Leopold said he’d send me the catalysts, but they haven’t arrived yet,” Vera said. “Not that I know where I’ll connect it to. You’re rather close to my tower, and I don’t know if Bastion Leopold’s fortresses will be able to send reinforcements.”
“Better to be connected to something rather than nothing,” Nathan said. Vera nodded.
“Are you sure you should leave her to decide by herself?” Vera asked, changing the subject.
“It’s her future, and she knows her abilities as well as anyone,” Nathan said.
“Maybe.” She sounded doubtful. “But you’re her Bastion. She looks to you for guidance. Even the slightest nudge toward the amethyst and she’ll take it. Don’t pretend you don’t want her to take it.”
Honestly, Nathan wanted her to choose the amethyst and to change her enhancement back to the speed one. But he couldn’t explain why.
He knew that Fei made for an amazing Champion with amethysts. But she had clearly performed better with her current enhancement. Shouldn’t that prove that he needs to push her down an alternative path? Was he blinded by his knowledge of the future?
Nathan held no knowledge about the path not taken by Fei. Would she turn out stronger with a new gem? Or would this be a horrible mistake?
If he hadn’t seen Sen’s personality shift in this new timeline, he wouldn’t hesitate to push the amethyst on Fei. But Sen’s changes showed that whatever was happening was for the better. She exuded a level of confidence that Nathan found delightful, and her sorcery improved at a rapid pace.
Maybe Fei could choose a different path as well, and things would be fine. Sen was doing well. Maybe Fei would as well.
“I don’t know,” Nathan admitted. “Based purely on what I know about her past, I wanted the amethyst. But Champions change as they gain experience. I wouldn’t push her into picking her gem this fast if a demonic invasion weren’t on the horizon.”
“She’ll grow into it, won’t she?”
“Sure, but what other futures am I closing off?” Nathan shook his head. “I’m beginning to realize that the world is far more complex than I’ve given credit for. There’s no singular path in life. No predestined future set out by the goddess.”
Vera’s eyebrows shot up. “Those are bold words for a Bastion.”
“Borderline heresy, I know.” Nathan chuckled darkly. “But if the goddess didn’t want us to protect the world ourselves and find our own path, would she have left us alone here?”
Vera remained silent. She walked with Nathan for a time.
“Maybe,” she said. “But what if you know what your future should be? Or what somebody else’s future should be? Is it right to deny it, because of your feelings about what is the right thing, or allowing choice? What if everybody ends up on the wrong path because of that?”
Nathan’s mind whirred. He considered her words.
“Are there wrong paths?” Nathan answered. He shook his head. He knew of at least one. “I don’t know. I have a future that I’m working toward. I don’t need everybody to be part of that, and they’re free to do whatever they want. Right and wrong don’t enter into it.”
“Hmm. So you’d trample over somebody else’s future in order to preserve your own?” Vera asked.
“I’m a Bastion. That’s my entire duty in life,” Nathan said wryly. “The Federation wants to take land from the Empire, and I’m here to stop them. The demons want… something. I’m stopping them. I kill bandits and enemy Champions. My job is not a nice one.”
“You sound more confused than I am,” Vera muttered.
Nathan laughed
. Long and hard.
How long had it been since he laughed like this, he wondered.
Vera looked at him oddly, as did several of the nearby guards.
“Sorry, but you’re right. Can you blame me? My life has changed a lot recently,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes.
“I suppose.” She sighed. “You lost everything before you came here, didn’t you? Effectively a count, denied your inheritance by your father despite being the rightful heir, and now a Bastion. I can see where you’re coming from.”
The two of them returned to the small garden where Fei stood with a single gem in her hand.
It glittered bright blue in the sun. A sapphire.
“You’ve decided?” Nathan asked, just to be sure.
“I have.”
“May I ask how?”
Fei nodded. “I don’t just want to be strong, or fast, or tough. I want to be an amazing warrior who can defeat her enemies no matter what they’re like. You’ve been so amazing in battle with your sorcery, Nathan. How could I not want to have even a sliver of that? And when I get three gems, I’ll be able to show you things beyond your wildest dreams.” She grinned broadly, showing her fangs.
Holding in a grimace, Nathan nodded. He didn’t know how to feel.
“I’ll read your mind during the ritual to determine the ability you gain from the gem,” he explained. “For later gems, you’ll be able to choose, but we don’t know how your body will react. So concentrate on the sort of ability you want, and that can help guide me and the binding stone’s power.”
Her tail swished violently behind her, and Fei nodded several times. Nathan ruffled her hair and heard her giggle when he brushed the inside of her ears.
When she calmed down, he placed the sapphire against her collarbone. It didn’t sink in. Fei gasped as the stone touched her skin. A small slit had been cut into her uniform and armor to make way for the gem.
Nathan reached into his mind and channeled the binding stone. He began the ritual. The sapphire exploded in brilliant, bright blue light, nearly blinding Nathan. Slowly, it sank into Fei’s chest. She let out rasping gasps, but remained still.
The process was very painful. Other Champions compared it to being stabbed very slowly.
Eventually, the blue stone sat flush with Fei’s collarbone and skin. Her eyes were wide, and almost entirely white. She stared into nothing, and he braced her with his free arm. She looked up at him and nodded.
Diving into her mind, he found it as welcoming as usual. If a little panicked. He took it slow, allowing her to calm down. Eventually he found her core. A satellite of power hung around it, and Nathan felt the tether from it to the binding stone. She was connected to the binding stone, and from it to him.
She was his. The Champion to Bastion connection was now permanent, until death parted them. At any moment, he could feel her life and mind. Understand her state of being. He’d never learned how, but supposedly some Bastions could read the minds and emotions of their Champions. The proof of this was in what he was about to do.
For now, he had a job to do. He reached out for the satellite of power that the gem had installed into her mind. The moment he touched it, Fei’s emotions and desires poured into him. His mind instinctively filtered out those not related to the gem.
Although he noted some from earlier that were distinctly related to him and the things she wanted to do to him.
He now knew that she was very, very interested in him. Damn.
Ignoring that, he tuned the sapphire. What felt like hours passed. Fei’s desire nudged at him, as did the reaction of her mind when he changed it in certain ways.
The first gemming ceremony was always the hardest. The binding stone was implanting its power into the Champion. It needed to take root, and if the wrong gem was selected or the wrong ability tuned to the Champion, then the ceremony would fail.
Nathan knew how to abort a failed ceremony, but the results could be catastrophic. Champions died from failed ceremonies, their minds turning to mush. Even successful ceremonies had dire consequences due to poor tuning. Nathan had met his fair share of Champions who obeyed their Bastions like slaves, and who were incapable of ever becoming duogem Champions or even using their single gem properly.
Most nations stripped Bastions of their position for a failed ceremony, or for “successful” ceremonies that damaged the Champion’s mind. Those rules had changed after the war had begun, but the Empire currently stuck to them. Not that Nathan had any intention of ever doing this to any Champion.
Finally, he pulled away from Fei’s mind. Her thoughts poured over him, and she seemed fine.
Nathan looked down at her in reality. She looked exhausted. Only minutes had passed. The sapphire shined from its place in her chest. She smiled at him.
“So what can I do?” she asked.
“Let’s go over that another day,” Nathan said. He ruffled her hair. “For now, you need some rest.”
“Can you groom me again?” she asked dreamily. Her head leaned against his chest.
Those desires from earlier washed over him. He cleared his throat, looked away, and then said, “Of course.”
He carried her back to her room, and she dozed. Vera accompanied them, looking thoughtful.
“I told you there wasn’t much to see,” Nathan told Vera.
“Maybe. But it still satisfied my curiosity,” she said.
He shrugged and let her wander off. Vera was due to return to her tower within the next few days. Letting her see a gemming ceremony wasn’t a big deal, given how little there was to see. Everything took place in the mental world.
Fei still seemed clean, so Nathan stripped her down and groomed her. She giggled at his touch, and the room filled with her scent as usual.
“Fei,” he said. His hand slipped along her taut ass.
She let out a sigh and looked up at him. Her face exuded ecstasy.
His hand drifted lower. Her tongue slipped out of her mouth, and she moaned.
Then her hand gripped his.
“No, not yet,” she mumbled.
“We both know you want this,” he said.
“I do,” she said. “But there’s something I want to do first.”
“Which is?” he asked.
She smiled. Her body shifted until she sat up in his lap, her mouth next to his ear. He could feel her body pressing against his.
She whispered, “In this next battle, I’ll prove that I’m worthy of being your mate.”
Chapter 22
The sky in the portal turned black the night of the invasion. Scouts reported back within minutes, their shouting echoing throughout the walls of the keep.
Nathan stirred. The noises from outside of his room boded poorly. His head lifted from the pillow, and he stared into the darkness of his room while he waited for his eyes to adjust. Sen moaned below him. She turned in her sleep and rubbed against his naked chest.
The door nearly blew open when Fei knocked on it. Nathan saw its hinges visibly move.
“Nathan!” Fei shouted. “Wake up, something’s wrong with the portal.”
She pushed the door open and Nathan received a reminder of why locking his door was pointless. Fei’s inhuman strength didn’t give a damn about how good the steel was or how complex a lock the door had. She pushed the door and it opened. A shame about the frame.
“Nathan!” she shouted again. Then she pouted when she saw him in bed with Sen.
“I’m awake,” Nathan said.
“So am I,” Sen said. “Goddess, Fei, are you trying to wake the dead?”
Fei didn’t say anything, instead choosing to glare at Sen. The beastkin took several seconds to regain her composure and flick on the lights. By which point, both Sen and Nathan were up and getting changed.
“The sky in the portal went dark,” Fei explained.
Nathan clicked his tongue. “That means the demons are about to invade through the portal. Gather all the soldiers and officers, Fei. And tell Kuda to send a
message to Vera. Maybe she’s set up her gateway and can bring reinforcements from Leopold.”
Fei obediently ducked off. Sen returned to her room to finish getting ready once she slipped some clothes on. Unwilling to waste time freshening up, Nathan threw on his uniform and rushed to the portal.
The doors were wide open. A dozen soldiers guarded them on this side. They saluted Nathan when he approached and allowed him in. Returning the salute, he entered the portal.
Nathan had been busy preparing for the invasion since Leopold’s visit. The portal was no longer a barren wasteland.
Immediately on the other side, a half-dozen automaton hoplites reacted to Nathan’s entry. They recognized their creator and deactivated again, lowering their spears. A palisade wall surrounded this side of the gate. Bulky machines sat atop the wall, pointing outward. Small ballista bolts—each about the length of Nathan’s leg—bristled from the machines. Dozens more bolts hid within the machines.
These were repeater ballistae powered by the binding stone, each capable of firing a bolt every few seconds. They operated automatically. Even their ammunition was replenished by the binding stone.
The interior gate opened, and Nathan walked through. Over a hundred soldiers milled about here. Another palisade lay farther down the valley and blocked off further descent toward the portal itself. More automaton hoplites stood guard near the wall, and more ballistae defended the wall. Soldiers attended to a few catapults, each of which had automatically refilling ammunition stockpiles.
Looking up, Nathan confirmed that the sky was now pitch black. Below him, the light creeping out from the cracks in the ground had turned a bright white.
Portals didn’t always show physical changes such as this before an invasion, but they were a clear sign of overflowing demonic energy. This world was being changed by the energy building up within it. Once they suppressed the invasion, the sky would become red again and the light from the cracks would return to normal.
Nathan considered himself lucky that his first invasion came with such obvious warning signs. While he could read the level of demonic energy flowing from the portal, at best he could only guesstimate when the invasion would happen. The monitoring devices that made accurate observation possible were yet to be invented and Nathan didn’t understand them well enough to recreate them. He was a Bastion, not a magical scientist or inventor.
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