Initially, the darkness was just a faint dimming on the eastern horizon that Orion might have attributed to weather or distance. Then the formation crossed an invisible boundary, and the light started to fade completely.
Below them, the Belt continued, but the color faded until it looked like a strip of charcoal.
It wasn’t as if they were invading the Twilight Hordes’ territory. They were just skimming its edge, but an insidious coolness made his skin crawl, as if to warn him they were not welcome. The Local Field around them grew heavy with shadow mana in all its forms, making the usual ease of light magic seem like a distant memory.
The first light spell appeared from a junior witch near the back. A pale sphere, weak and barely able to light up a few yards, hovered above her broom handle, and soon, a second followed, then a third, until the formation was dotted with floating points of light.
[Torchlight] again, he thought, with a faint amusement. It was heavily modified, stretched, and dressed up with holy symbols and flourishes, but it was still the same old trick.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that they went back to the basics. Casting a more complex light spell here would require a lot of effort in this environment.
Elder Candra’s voice reached them all as the last of the natural light from behind disappeared. “We have company.”
Asteria lifted a hand. The gesture was subtle but commanding, causing the entire formation to slow down instantly, shifting from cruising to a controlled glide.
“Listen carefully,” Asteria said. “Do not act unless I say so. Do not answer provocations. Do not cast, no matter what you hear or see.”
She paused, allowing them to absorb her words, and Orion could hear the soft creak of broom bristles as people shifted.
“They will try to provoke you,” Asteria continued. “They will try to make you show fear, anger, or pride. They are unlikely to seek a fight because they are not fools, and we are not prey. But do not forget that they are vampires, and their games are older than most of the cities you were born in.”
Her gaze slid, briefly, to Orion.
That look was not maternal. It was a reminder.
Orion gave a small nod that he hoped appeared obedient. He could behave if he needed to.
The darkness ahead rippled.
At first, he thought it was just his eyes adjusting, but something began taking shape, and a moment later, a man could be seen hovering in the air before them, balanced as neatly as any witch on a broom, though he used no broom and needed no visible spell.
He looked like a handsome older gentleman, dressed for a formal event with his perfectly tailored coat, his light-colored gloves, and polished boots. His hair was silver at the temples, and his face was subtly lined, but when his eyes caught the nearest torchlight, they flashed with a cold gleam.
Behind him, deeper in the darkness, Orion sensed movement. Shapes shifted just outside the reach of their lights. Not quite visible, not quite invisible, and all the more unsettling for it.
The man smiled at Asteria as if they knew each other and bowed with liquid grace.
“Veil Priestess,” he said, voice refined and smooth. “How rare to be graced by the Sanctum’s finest so far east.”
His aura rolled out as he spoke.
It wasn’t the brutal pressure of a beast, nor the sharp edge of a war mage ready to attack. It was something heavier, older, and purposely restrained, though that control was part of the threat.
Orion felt his skin crawl beneath it. The witches around him stiffened, and even Pauline’s shadows seemed to hesitate, as if a pup caught in the jaws of an alpha.
He must be Tier Four. These days, I see them everywhere. It’s hard to remember that there are only a few hundred in the entire Cyril.
Tilting his glasses, Orion inspected the hovering figure.
Erasmus Nicotricos — Night Lord of the Twilight Hordes
Class: [Night Lord] [A-rank]
Level: 164
Mind: 1,127
Attunement: 1,396
Body: 892
Traits: Dusk Dominion [A-rank]; Courtly Predation [A-rank]; Mana Manipulation [B-rank]; Blood Oath Refinement [B-rank]; Shadow Son [B-rank]; Nocturne Grace [B-rank]
Orion kept his face blank, although he cursed quietly inside, then admired the numbers, and cursed again.
He’s the most well-balanced tier four I’ve ever seen. I bet this guy is older than Candra, even though his level is lower.
Asteria met Erasmus’s smile with a calm that was almost gentle, if you didn’t know her. “We were following the Belt,” she said. “We do not intend to enter your heartlands.”
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Erasmus spread his hands. “Of course, I expected nothing else. But may this old one ask you, what is it that you seek, this far from home?”
“We are looking for an explanation,” she said evenly, “for how the dragon Matriarch Behenien and her flock were able to penetrate the Belt without any warning reaching Valderun or the Sanctum.”
The words were mild, but the implication was not.
For a moment, the darkness behind Erasmus churned, like a sea stirred by something massive beneath it. Orion sensed a flicker of anger in the unseen presences, a ripple of hunger that pressed against the torchlights as if trying to make them gutter, yet nothing attacked.
Erasmus sighed softly and shook his head as if he felt disappointed. “Ah. The dragon, yes.” He looked to the side, toward the unseen shapes behind him, and his smile softened into something that might have been sympathy.
“We did know she came down the northern delta,” Erasmus said. “And we did send word ahead.”
Asteria remained still, even as confusion spread through the group. “No warning reached us,” she said.
Erasmus raised an eyebrow. “A tragedy,” he murmured. “But maybe not a mystery.”
“What do you mean?” Asteria asked, as her eyes narrowed.
He clasped his hands behind his back, casually hovering as if he enjoyed the tension. “We sent the message by caravan,” he said. “You know how merchants are, always wasting time selling their goods at every village.”
Orion felt his jaw slacken in disbelief before he shook his head.
Of course, the vampires would send a warning about a dragon through a merchant caravan.
“It is likely still en route,” Erasmus added, as if that made anything better.
Orion could sense Asteria’s anger building. Erasmus met her gaze, and for the first time, his smile seemed less amused.
He understood what lay ahead and that pushing her too far would be foolish. There has to be a limit even to the games vampires play.
“You are displeased,” Erasmus said softly.
“I am,” Asteria replied.
“I see. No, that won't do,” he said, “Allow me to provide a service to demonstrate there was no ill will in our actions.”
Asteria did not answer immediately, but Orion sensed the calculation behind her impassive face. He could almost hear her weighing whether accepting would cause more problems than refusing.
Erasmus spoke before she could, as if sensing that the moment was slipping away. “We will lead you along this stretch,” he said. “My people will stay in the shadows, but they will be there. No beast will attack you while you cross our border, and I assure you, without our help, transversing this stretch of the Belt would not be easy.”
That might help. We're still not fully over the battle at Stillport, so having a few hours of guaranteed safety wouldn't be a bad idea.
Asteria’s gaze remained flinty, but she inclined her head. “Very well,” she said. “Lead, then, but keep your games to a minimum.”
Erasmus’s smile returned. “As you wish, Veil Priestess.”
The formation resumed its flight, slower than before because now they were being escorted and couldn’t spread freely outside the ring of light they had created.
The Night Lord moved ahead and slightly below, acting as a guide, while unseen shapes flanked them at a distance. Orion could feel them slipping in and out of his peripheral vision, never close enough to identify, never far enough to ignore.
[Torchlights] kept burning, but the darkness remained thick, and hours went by silently.
The Belt beneath them narrowed, starting slowly and then more noticeably. Near Carat, it had been as wide as a lake, with space for towns, camps, and shifting trade routes. Now it was just a broad river, and the trees that once formed a sprawling black canopy had become a thin edge tracing its course.
Orion looked down and saw the water moving like ink, with its surface broken only by occasional pale reflections of torchlight, and he thought about what lived beneath it in lands so thick with darkness mana.
I wonder if the fish here are akin to those of Earth’s deep seas. The sensation I get is remarkably similar.
The vampires spoke little as they led them. Erasmus occasionally turned his head to check the formation’s position, but his expression stayed politely distant, and it just didn’t feel right to strike up a conversation in these circumstances.
At one point, Pauline drifted closer to Orion. “I dislike this,” she murmured, her voice low enough that only he could hear over the wind. “Vampires never do anything without wanting something in return.”
Orion did not look at her, keeping his eyes forward. “They've already wronged us,” he replied. “This is just their way of avoiding consequences.”
Pauline grunted softly, then eased back toward Asteria.
Eventually, the darkness began to thin.
It eased gradually, and the first real stars appeared in the sky ahead only minutes later, but they were brighter than he could ever remember them being after so long in the complete dark.
The moon followed, and its light felt almost shocking, causing many of the witches to mutter prayers to Her glory.
A bridge rose from the darkness, spanning the river below them.
It was made of old stone and built in a style that didn’t match the Collegium’s sleek lines or the Sanctum’s stark geometry. Instead, it looked almost gothic, with tall arches, sharp angles, and carved faces that stared down from the parapets.
Erasmus slowed down, and the formation followed his lead. He turned to face them once more, hanging above the middle of the river, with the bridge behind him like a stage prop.
“Our border ends here,” he said.
Asteria just tilted her head, giving him only the bare minimum of respect.
Erasmus nodded back, and for a moment, Orion thought the vampire might say something else, perhaps a parting remark meant to linger in their minds.
Instead, Erasmus smiled as if amused by the restraint and bowed.
“May your night be quiet,” he said. “And may your enemies be foolish.”
Then he drifted backward, and the darkness closed around him like a curtain being drawn. The unseen presences that had surrounded them slipped away, and for the first time in hours, Orion felt like he could breathe freely.
Being around so many human-eating creatures, no matter how intelligent they are, is not good for my nerves. Today has been a long day.
The formation crossed the bridge in silence.
As they flew overhead, Orion looked down at the carvings and noticed that some of the faces were more than just decorations. Their mouths were slightly open, their eyes too deep, and their expressions too intense. Using [Hypotheticism], he realized they were a kind of gargoyle, filled with animation magic and ready to attack at the slightest provocation.
They did not stir as they flew, but their eyes tracked their passage.
On the far side, the landscape changed once more as they entered the territory of the Tower of Ambition.
The Belt opened up into a picturesque landscape, with fields and forests separated by rocky ridges and occasional ruins. The Mana Field here was not thick and stifling; instead, it was energetic, restless, and somewhat wild.
Even from afar, Orion could sense the change in how the witches flew, a subtle easing of tension. They still faced danger everywhere, but now it was a familiar kind, coming from monsters rather than the polite, theatrical threat of vampires.
They flew until the moon was higher, then descended to make camp.
Within minutes, wards were cast, fire pits dug, defensive structures built, and a perimeter established. The apprentices handled the more routine preparations, while the Magistrae oversaw the placement of protective glyphs, making sure they would not be wasted.
Orion dismounted and flexed his fingers, feeling the soreness in his shoulders and the dull exhaustion in his leg.
I may not have fussed over losing my foot, but I’m starting to feel its absence. I can only hope we’ll get back soon, or I’ll have to start tinkering with it, and I have much more interesting things to run simulations on. The spatial gate Mom and Candra created, for one, still stumps me, but I know that once I figure it out, I’ll finally be able to start using spatial magic.
He was still thinking about that when Asteria came up to him.
“Get ready to sleep,” she said.
Orion blinked. “Now?” The meals were almost ready, but it didn’t look like people were preparing to rest just yet.
“Yes, as soon as you’ve eaten,” Asteria replied.
Orion frowned, then realized what she meant. “You want me awake earlier,” he said.
“I do,” Asteria replied. “I plan to take you on a hunt at first light, then we’ll move on for the final stretch.”
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