Chapter 4557: True Sign (Part 1)

The Honor Colosseum remained, but it had become pointless, and the Garuda dispelled it. The entire Fringe was filled with more world energy than any mana geyser could produce.

The Guardian of Might felt her powers reach new heights as Mogar’s essence invigorated her, yet she knew the Fylgja enjoyed the same boon, if not something even greater.

"This is new. I’ve seen this happen in the past, but never because of me. I guess that training my life forces paid off." Tezka’s muscles tensed like bowstrings as the Maw of Bytra’s crystal fangs flashed with the many spells it was weaving, and the Skull became visible to the naked eye. "I have no reason to hold back."

"And I’ve changed my mind." Zagran looked up at the sky to see the solar disc disappear behind the black blot of the Suneater spell. "We don’t have to fight."

"Am I supposed to believe you?" Tezka quoted.

"Have I ever lied to you?" The Garuda quoted back.

"Fine, but only if you give me your warrior oath that you will let me and Auros get out of your turf without trying anything funny or setting up an ambush with your fellow Guardians." The Suneater said.

"Deal, but in exchange I want your word that neither of you will hurt anyone." Zagran replied. "I can let a scouting mission slide, but if you harm Jiera or its inhabitants in any way, then we are going to have a problem."

"I have no interest in doing anything like that. Believe it or not, I haven’t killed anyone in months unless they attacked me first." Tezka said. "When I’m hungry, I eat a few steaks, and I get full!"

"I believe you." The Lord of Might couldn’t smell any blood on the Eldritch, and the scent of death on him had become much fainter from their last encounter. "You have my warrior oath."

What she could sense was the subtle distortion in the space around them and the gravitational pressure of a well-placed and even better cloaked Chaos Dimension. She wasn’t aware of the Suneater’s breakthrough in fusing Eternity and Infinity Magic, but she recognized the spell and grasped the danger it posed.

"And you have my word. Truce?" Tezka let the dimensional field fade, and the Fringe disappeared with it.

"Truce. Unless you’re interested in a spar rather than a fight to the death." Zagran shrank to the Suneater’s size and recalled her aura.

"Another time." Tezka shrugged. "Believe me, I don’t want to be here. I just want to be done with this and go home."

The way he spoke that last word struck a chord in the Guardian’s mind that she believed no Eldritch ever could.

"Then leave, and take out the trash on your way out of my lawn." She stared at Auros and snarled.

"Can I ask you a question, first?" The Suneater said.

"Within reason."

"Do you think what we saw in the Fringe is how Mogar would like Jiera to be, or is it just a landscape it likes?"

’Since when does an Eldritch care about Mogar?’ She thought.

"I don’t know, but sure it was nicer than what we have now." Zagran actually replied, her expression showing nothing of the shock she felt.

"It was." A flick of Tezka’s wrist opened a Warp Steps large enough for Auros to walk through that led the lost city just a few kilometers away from Roghar’s turf. "Goodbye, young squirrel."

The Fylgja used the power of his Suneater spell to open a second Warp Steps that brought him far away enough from Zagran to give him time to conjure another Suneater spell in case she went back on her word and chased him.

"Distrustful bastard." The Garuda remained where she was and opened a mind link that connected her with the other five original Guardians of Mogar.

She shared with them everything she had learned from following Tezka, challenging him to duel, and more importantly, listening to his words. ℴ𝒗ⅇ𝑙.

"Usually, I wouldn’t have hesitated going all out, but Mogar never creates a Fringe just for the fun of it." Zagran said. "It’s a warning that very bad things are about to happen, and I took her advice seriously.

"The Suneater managed to match my aura with his two signature spells and a few cantrips." She didn’t bother hiding the newfound respect for her enemy. "Sure, I didn’t use my Life Maelstrom, but aside from his fake Menadion Set, he had yet to take out his equipment."

"That’s the least of our worries." Fenagar scratched his chin with the tip of his tail. "When’s the last time that a non-Guardian, no matter their mage tower or equipment, had a Fringe manifest during one of our fights?"

"When Yaga put her tower and life on the line to save one of her Horsemen." Salaark replied, and the other Guardians nodded.

"And that’s why I turned down a good scrap." The Mother of All Garudas said. "I’m a fighter, not a killer, and Tezka was determined to kill me. No matter how small my chances of losing were, I couldn’t afford dying while the Fringe stopped me from warning you of the danger at hand."

"That was unsurprisingly noble and surprisingly wise of you." Tyris gave the Lord of Might a deep bow. "You sacrificed your fun for our sake. For that, you have my gratitude."

"Order and Chaos, if I hate it when you give someone a compliment while also making it sound insulting." Zagran snorted.

"I only speak the truth." Tyris replied with a chuckle. "I can’t control how you react to it."

"Bottom line, Tezka has become much stronger since he sparred with you, Sally. I’m afraid he might not be the only one. The Organization is full of old monsters like him." The Garuda ignored the remark.

"But none of them has access to the raw power of the sun as he does. I’m inclined to think Tezka is an outlier." Leegaain pointed out. "Also, don’t worry too much about the Fringe. It might not have been created because of the old fox, but because of Auros."

"That weakling?" Zagran and Salaark clicked their tongues in disgust, while Roghar spat as if the mere thought left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Yes, Auros is weak, but if he got destroyed during your fight, the consequences would have been beyond catastrophic and a large portion of Jiera would have disappeared." Leegaain’s reply silenced the rest of the so-called gods of magic.

"A Fringe isn’t a measure of strength. It’s a measure of the danger two opposing forces pose to life as we know it. No Fringe appeared when Tyris and Fenagar clashed because their fight took place in the middle of the ocean.

"There was nothing there, and most living creatures rode the currents created by the blows to get to safety. Mogar didn’t set any boundary when Tyris fought Ileza either because they both consumed part of their focus and power to contain the aftershocks and ensure nobody got hurt."

"Hey, how come I’m the Lord of Might, and you are the one kicking Guardian asses every other day?" Zagran stared at Tyris in envy.