Zalia sat in the corner of the temple as more and more of the smaller starlight wolves entered the temple. The light still shining down from above glittered against their ethereal coats as they found their own places across the temple floor.

  She had wondered why Lumin had wanted to join them for their excursion out here, but now understood fully. Perhaps it had been Ro who had pushed Lumin to join her or they had felt the need on their own. Either way, she was happy for them. Lumin’s previous form, that of the starlight wolf, had given up much of their own power and sense of self in a sacrifice to bring Nateysta to Endaria, which subsequently helped them win against the demon invasion.

  From where she sat, Zalia could see out the front door as more wolves came in. Their flow slowly stopped, until a final wolf, a small puppy, came tapping through to sit right next to Zalia. She smiled at it, gave it a pat, then looked towards Lumin who was standing above all the others, head held high.

  It was an awe inspiring sight, and made her wonder if there were more temples around the world dedicated to the nature gods of old. Did the spirit of heat and stone that lived in Glemp’s mountain have temples dedicated to it somewhere? What about the other nature gods she had seen help pull apart the ascendant energy of the Monarch? Who were they and where did their power come from?

  She summoned a piece of wood from her vault and used Natural Matter Alteration to begin creating a little carving of a wolf. Though focused on the task, her eyes were drawn out the door where the snow laden north awaited her. She would reach Gold rank soon, then hopefully ascend further to Emerald, Diamond, Mythical and perhaps one day, Ascendant. Would she have temples dedicated to her like this one? Followers and aspects?

  What would her guiding nature be, if that time came? Ro was nature and mystery, while Lumin had the guidance and the stars above. Would Zalia be the god of hunters and cats?

  She was drawn out of her thoughts as an ironfur rabbit bounded at speed towards the temple, face twisted with the flesh warping disease carried by all animals here. She felt, more than saw, the attention of Lumin, the wolves and the very temple beneath them focus onto the offending rabbit. Starlight beamed down from above as the rabbit reached the steps, evaporating it instantly.

  Well, that was interesting.

  She immediately thought about bringing Glemp to the temple, as it was both far enough north to put Rozestrazix’s fears to rest and safe enough that nothing could harm them while they studied the warped flesh. Also, Lumin was probably capable of evaporating any of the offending disease should Glemp accidentally infect themself.

  That being said though, Glemp would have no easy way back to the mountain should her ritual fail to keep them sustained, where the Grove was a little safer. No, they could stay where they were. The constant healing of the Grove might end up being important to their survival as well.

  She looked over at Boreal, then flicked her head towards the door. Boreal understood immediately and bounded over, Aylie noticing and joining.

  “Want to go out there and fight with us?” Zalia asked.

  Aylie looked back over her shoulder towards Lumin.

  “Actually, there is something interesting going on here, beyond what you’re seeing in this world. I want to study it.”

  Zalia raised an eyebrow.

  Aylie rolled her eyes and scoffed.

  “Don’t be like that. It reminds me of your Groves, like Lumin is claiming the world here somehow, not only in the physical world but the astral world too. Go, I’ll be safe.”

  “Alright, see you soon.”

  Zalia took off into the sky, her armour appearing to cover her body. Boreal followed too, bounding over small platforms of ice that formed in the air beneath her before launching into flight as Zalia summoned wings to her back. Cats weren’t meant to fly yet Boreal made it look graceful. As graceful as it could look with the wind blowing her fur all over the place, anyway.

  It was about time that Zalia caught up to Boreal and reached Gold rank.

  With the Flight passive, Zalia’s eyesight sharpened as she flew, staring down at the ground beneath her. She could stay in the air and take down the corrupted animals one by one… but why would she do that?

  To rank up quickly, one had to push themselves. Easy fights won before they even started wouldn’t accomplish that.

  After flying as fast as she could for a few minutes, Zalia spotted one of the six legged bears down below. She dropped like a rock, arrows firing from her bow as she did. Each arrow flew before her, only to be left behind as her acceleration overtook their flight. She hit first, breaking the bear’s back before a storm of arrows took its life.

  Boreal landed nearby, an explosion of cold wind and ice bursting outwards. The snow-laded trees were stripped of leaves and turned to icy sculptures, the undergrowth all but blown away, as Boreal’s landing turned the landscape into the image of a blast frozen in time.

  Zalia followed her example and used Natural Matter Alteration, closing her eyes to focus on it. The trees and shrubbery around her shifted, the ground flattened and the snow cleared until there was a flat circular space upon which she could work. Boreal would do well with obstacles and shadows to work with but Zalia would reign out in the open space.

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  The first animals flowed out of the nearby forest, streaming towards Zalia. She used Trapper and the area around her was filled with pit traps, spikes, bear traps and other contraptions all designed to kill. They were magically enhanced with various effects like poison and triggered explosions, some going off instantly as animals stepped into them.

  Her bow, floating beside her by its own power, began to shoot. Blazing lines of starlight lit up the area as the arrows formed trails, each leading from the bow to an animal as it dropped dead.

  Zalia hefted her sword and waited, marking ten of the closest animals with Hunter’s Mark. The bow ignored them as they got closer and Zalia started to move. She sprinted at a wolf with ice powers, dodging the sharp shards that were flung in her direction. It slashed at her and she parried its claws, using the resulting instant of power and speed from her sword and proficiency both to strike it in half, activating Kill Shot as she did. A beam of light shot from the dead wolf, spearing through the other nine marked targets and killing them.

  She did not revel in the killing, but set to it with grim determination. Only once the corruption was cleansed from the north would life be able to flourish here once more.

  Time lost meaning as the slaughter continued, her sword leaving a bright echo of its movement in the air as she danced around the beasts throwing themselves at her. Nearby, amidst the frozen explosion of Boreal’s landing, the shadows roiled as claws and teeth rose from them to bite down into an enemy. Most were created by Boreal’s powers, yet some were the cat herself. She tore across the landscape and ripped apart any that approached. Most never even saw her but the ones that did were completely frozen with fear, dead before Boreal could reach them.

  While Zalia was approaching Gold rank and had some of the power that entailed, Boreal was truly there already. Some of the Silver rankers gave Zalia trouble but Boreal barely had to pause as they were torn apart.

  Zalia had trouble determining how long passed before a rumbling sound filled the air. The ground beneath them shook and she took off into the air. The worm was coming.

  Rock cracked and dirt shifted. With a burst of debris, the worm exploded from the ground and reared its head, trying to catch Zalia in its maw. She avoided it even as her bow shot it again and again, leaving bright glowing wounds that burned it from the inside out.

  Boreal appeared from its shadow, slashing across its side multiple times, leaving long gashes in the side of the massive beast. It rumbled and turned about, its maw sinking down towards where Boreal had been and digging back into the ground. Zalia dropped from the air to sink her sword into the side of the worm as it began to retreat back into the ground. She held the weapon steady as the movement of the beast tore a wound through its body from top to bottom, the entire thing glowing like the stars above.

  It was Gold rank, yet not nearly a match for Boreal or even Zalia. The power of this creature came from its ability to warp others, not its own personal power.

  Yet with the rituals engraved into her armour and the natural protections she had from her abilities, Zalia was unphased. Despite getting the ichor of the beast all through her fur, Boreal was similarly undisturbed.

  As Zalia noticed the worm trying to retreat back into the ground fully, she took control of the earth beneath them and began to pull it out. It struggled against her, its own control over the earth beginning to wrestle control out of her hands as it dug.

  Boreal wasn’t standing idly as their fight continued however. She pounced on the visible section of the worm's body, sending a shock of ice coursing through it. The ice spread further and further until the worm was frozen completely, unable to move as its body temperature dropped below freezing.

  Blade unfettered by the rock hard body of the worm, Zalia started cutting. She sliced away section after section of its long body until she had cut it completely in half, ending the battle.

  Flames appeared and roved across Zalia’s body and blade, burning away the foul, corrupted blood of the worm before she settled onto a stone pedestal that rose from the ground. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes.

  Congratulations! Kill Shot has reached Silver 19.

  Congratulations! Hunter’s Mark has reached Silver 19.

  Congratulations! Healing Presence has reached Silver 20.

  Congratulations! Healing Presence has reached Gold 1.

  Passive 1 - Healing presence - passive - aura

  Tin - Your very presence grants life to all around you. You, nearby allies and any flora and fauna you so choose within your aura are affected by a heal over time effect. The heal over time effect heals for low health every second.

  Iron - Healing presence now heals the most grave injuries first and you may focus it onto a single target, increasing that targets healing while reducing the healing other targets receive

  Bronze - Healing Presence now attunes to the specific needs of each individual target within your aura. It adjusts its healing output based on the severity of injuries or ailments, offering targeted healing to each person or creature accordingly. You may still change this manually if wished. Additionally, once every twenty four hours, when you or an ally would die you are instead cocooned in a protective barrier as made by Protection of the Wilds and made invulnerable to most things for six seconds.

  Silver - Healing Presence expands its reach to the flora and fauna beyond your immediate surroundings. A second layer of aura with only the Tin rank effect of this ability now extends to a wider area, encompassing large swaths of ecosystems, granting them a gentle and sustained healing effect. All other effects of Healing presence are still limited to their previous range. This does not interrupt the natural cycle of life within an ecosystem.

  Gold - Your Healing Presence aura is now inhabited by one of nature’s Healing Spirits.

  Healing Spirit - The Healing Spirit exists halfway between the physical and spiritual. Its touch is able to heal wounds to the soul and amplifies the effects of the aura it inhabits on a target. Because of its nature, it is also able to bring a being back from the dead as long as it died within the last few seconds.

  Zalia read over the new ability and raised an eyebrow. Finally, a type of healing that affected the soul. Aylie already had one from her own version of Healing Presence, though it was definitely more in line with her power set. Knowing the descriptions of Hildebrandt’s powers though, Zalia understood that most powers began to affect the entire being of a person at Gold rank, rather than just the physical. It was another step on the path to ascendance.

  She could feel the spirit as it took its place in their reality, settling into her aura. It was barely visible, a slight shift in the air, a warping of vision that most below Silver rank wouldn’t notice. She watched it warily as it approached her, a shape that could have been a head tilting. Zalia reached out a hand towards it and it did the same. Her hand touched its limb and she could feel the power of Healing Presence amplified within her. A warmth flowed through her unlike one she had felt before. It was like the reverse of the pain that came with overusing a passive, a feeling so deep in the core of her being that it wasn’t in the body.

  Zalia stood and the spirit moved forward, its touch vanishing as it stepped into Zalia and was subsumed into her body. She shivered and released her sword from the physical world, allowing it to vanish to mist. It was just another step towards Gold rank.