The ship wasn’t anything exceptional, so John split it in half and watched it sink. There was no value to doing so instead of capturing it, except it was easier and made him feel better. But after that he had to drag all the people that surrendered to shore, so it was a mixed bag.

  He could be back in his perch within an hour, but he noticed that there was a message flashing its way across the Shining Coast. At the current moment, most messages transmitted through the network were emergencies, so John set out to see what it was.

  It turned out it would have found its way to him soon enough regardless, as the message actually was for him. The short and simple summary was that Elder Roi had shown up on the border- traveling through the Molten Sea, specifically. It was finally a response from the Empire of Elements, and John hoped it was a positive one. At the very least sending Elder Roi himself meant it wasn’t a casual reply. Even if John’s first experience with the man had ended on sour notes, it wasn’t the fault of the man himself- and Aldara trusted him.

  John could have sent a return message redirecting Elder Roi to wherever he needed… but it was about time to show his face in the heartlands again. Just for a bit. His personal travel speed was such that it wasn’t a terribly long trip. What could have once taken weeks could be just a few days if he was willing to go without making any stops- except perhaps to rest. No social visits or cultivation excursions.

  As he flew over the Blustering Peaks, John stopped by the two spirit beasts to let them know what was going on. “Finally got a reply from the Empire,” he said.

  Cuah’arn nodded. “You are returning to complete negotiations, then?”

  “Something like that. You coming?”

  “I shall maintain my presence in this region for a bit longer. Though this one might need a ride,” she gestured with her wing.

  “Hmph.” Ciaritzal turned his head haughtily. “I need no such ‘ride’. I may not be able to fly, but a bit of wind won’t stop me from climbing what mountains I please.”

  John grinned. “I didn’t think it would. Do you want me to take you along, though? I’m faster.”

  Ciaritzal pondered for a few moments. “Yes, I should get back to the clan as expediently as possible. My presence would be well suited on the southern border, in The Gloom.”

  The new name might not stick, but since the land was no longer desolate people were trying things out. It was still rather Gloomy with all the darkness element, after all.

  “Good, I’ll take you as far as Astrein. You can get back to the clan from there and arrange the rest with them, I’m certain.”

  “Indeed.”

  With that, Ciaritzal stepped forward and into John. Normally, such a fusion was straining for John. However, not only was he the stronger party now but Ciartizal wasn’t actually trying to infuse him with spiritual energy. He was basically just a passenger, while also happening to be a constant flow of energy. But it was minimal without further active intent.

  John hadn’t seen Cuah’arn do quite the same sort of thing, but he knew she sometimes imbued feathers with power and gave them to people. If Cuah’arm did combine with someone, it was more likely she would attach externally- perhaps as wings or a corona of light. That was simply a difference between the elements. Both lacked true physicality, however, so the possibilities were there. Unlike Carl. The youthful leviathan most certainly had a physical body, and not one that was liquid like his element.

  John flew, appreciating the flow of spiritual energy from Ciaritzal, such as it was. He could go a little bit faster without exhausting himself, though of course he had to convert the spiritual energy. It wouldn’t do to arrive at a meeting with Elder Roi looking haggard, though John actually suspected he would arrive first. The message had taken less than a day to reach him… still not instantaneous, but not too bad. Light was generally the best for long distance transmission, and there were enough cultivators able to man similar stations in every region now. It was valuable to the war effort.

  Wind blew on John’s face. Some would call it biting, but to him it was pleasant. He was effectively alone with his thoughts, as Ciartizal recognized his mood. Mostly, John found he was glad to be doing something. At least they were making progress towards something. If the Empire of Elements wasn’t going to join with them, they’d have to go forward with some of the more risky plans. Exalted Soul Phase cultivators were no joke.

  Extreme gusts couldn’t blow John off course, and clouds couldn’t hinder his senses. He continued his flight to the southeast, wishing he could move more casually and take in the elements. Every region, every place, had valuable insights. Even the lowliest field had something John could learn, and he thought it was worth his time to seek out as many as possible. At least, in other circumstances. At the moment, every second was precious- yet many were also wasted, as he couldn’t always act as he pleased.

  Lunson was long used to John flying in. He actually stood out slightly less once he reached the Exalted Soul Phase, as his balanced elements blended more into the background. This time, however, he didn’t even try to conceal his approach. He felt attention draw to him, as if he was particularly interesting. John didn’t think he should be, as everyone had seen him before. Then again, maybe those with talent could pick up some elemental manipulation simply from watching him fly. John would be happy if they did, as it would make the continent stronger- and they needed that at the moment.

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  John dropped off Ciaritzal in his personal gardens. The spirit beast didn’t necessarily need to head out directly, but instead could choose his own timing. If nothing else, a nice break would do him some good.

  -----

  Elder Roi certainly didn’t dally on his way to Lunson. He actually wasn’t too far behind John’s own arrival- just a few hours. He was a peak Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, but the difference in speed and stamina was far more than it would seem for such a technically small difference in rank. John had experienced it himself, and while part of it was completing a full cycle, the Exalted Soul Phase alone was a huge factor.

  “Welcome, Elder Roi,” John said, his voice carrying to the man as he passed the threshold of the city. “Would you like some refreshments?” The kitchens were aware of his approach, and they were constantly doing something anyway. Not all cultivators were active during the day. Currently, it was the early hours of the morning. John didn’t sleep much, and he would have noticed the man’s arrival regardless.

  “The Empire of Elements was attacked,” Elder Roi responded, his spiritual energy transmitting the words only to John.

  John was aghast. “By who?”

  If the Empire of Elements had been drawn into another war… it was unlikely that Aldara could help. John was also worried at who would be so crazy.

  “The Sovereign Primacy.” Elder Roi was halfway to the sect grounds. “Who else?”

  John was relieved. He wasn’t sure if that was an appropriate response but… it was actually the best option. “I hadn’t thought they would be so… bold. Is that why you did not approach by the northern coasts?”

  “Nor the southern sea,” Elder Roi replied. “They came from the southeast.”

  John’s face fell. It was one thing for the Windswept Sea to have fallen under the Sovereign Primacy’s influence, but there was a vast area between them and the shores of the Empire of Elements. “Have they conquered all the rest of the planet?”

  “Conquered, allied, cajoled… something to that effect.”

  John waved the sect’s formations open for Elder Roi, and the man landed in John’s personal courtyards a few moments later. “Do we need any others present?”

  “Not really. It’s a short message. The Empire of Elements offers their support to stand against the Sovereign Primacy. But we must also ask for your expertise in return.”

  “Of course,” John said. All he really wanted was Aldara, but he wasn’t going to be picky. Mixing and matching cultivators from different groups could be quite valuable. “Did the Molten Sea give you trouble?”

  “The Sovereign Primacy attacked them as well,” Elder Roi explained.

  “... They’re insane.” Even if the Molten Sea was weaker than either of the continents, they weren’t insignificant. Was the Triptych just trying to wrap up all of their remaining foes?

  “They do have three Exalted Soul Phase cultivators, do they not?”

  John nodded. “I witnessed them personally.”

  “Then they may be at an advantage.”

  “Could be.”

  John had an unwavering confidence that if he was fighting alongside Matayal, they could beat them. That confidence remained once he remembered she was Aldara now. He wondered if she felt the same, or if his confidence was unjustified.

  “Let’s talk about how we coordinate for our mutual defense,” John said. “For that, I think we’ll need Viriato and my best elders.” Those ‘elders’ also happened to be John’s first round of apprentices. Either way, they were Ascending Soul Phase cultivators now… and each had a powerful cultivation path. Core cycles were common, but some focused on single elements and still thrived.

  -----

  Things were so much worse than they had been. The Sovereign Primacy apparently had enough manpower to assault the continents from almost every angle, while at the same time also having supreme might on the top end. It was to the point that John had to seriously consider bending the knee… even though they hadn’t even asked for it. His own life wasn’t the important one, but instead those who he cared for. They would recover given time, as long as they survived.

  The problem was that the Sovereign Primacy couldn’t be trusted. In the history John was aware of, they hadn’t engaged in any real form of diplomacy with the continents. Even if they gave their assurances that people would survive, the fact that they’d begun with annihilating a city didn’t say much for their likelihood of negotiation. Perhaps if they’d immediately followed up with demands for surrender, but they just fought. As if sending hundreds of cultivators to their death day in and day out wasn’t a big deal for them… and perhaps it wasn’t.

  After all, why should Exalted Soul Phase cultivators care about the lives of those beneath them? Or something like that. John cared, and Aldara seemed to be a decent leader. It was trivially easy to see cultivators acting in that manner, though.

  John needed to meet Aldara. Unfortunately, the Sovereign Primacy had already managed to strike when he was away once. Aldara couldn’t very well assume the same wouldn’t be true if she left the Empire of Elements. If they could just have a single phone call…

  Well, even if she agreed with John that they should try to kick the asses of the Triptych, they’d still have to track them down. Most likely, they would want to avoid the two Exalted Soul Phase cultivators. It would be the right choice.

  Then again, maybe they would be eager to attack. Three versus two seemed like a winning gamble. John needed to explain their elemental imbalance to Aldara… and then they needed to find a way to force that conflict. Because otherwise, it seemed as if their continents would be overwhelmed- and those that lived around them. John suspected it wouldn’t be long before word came from the western islands that they, too, were under attack. The Sovereign Primacy really could decide to assault everything that remained of their foes, which seemed to be the whole world.