Chapter 369: Aeloria’s Condition

The kitsune court was just beginning to calm when Aeloria ushered Lucifer from the others’ company. Francisca was still recovering under the care of the Remu, and Nyx was already discussing details with the local attendants regarding the drag the seat’s lingering friction would impose on the surrounding wards. The brevity of their preparations weighed on every soul present, but Aeloria’s expression as she halted their progress on a bridge stretching between two of the upper pavilions was enough to silence any protest. Even as the light in this place grew dimmer, flickering between the strange fluctuations, Aeloria stood perfectly still, her hands clasped before the balustrade, surveying the uncertain glow.

"There is a limit to my participation I have not yet disclosed," she said finally, her voice quiet but firm. "I ought to have voiced it when we secured the breach team, but I did not, being unapt to measure the risk at that time. The measurement is complete."

Lucifer turned to face her fully. "Speak."

"I am unable to devote my efforts to the enclave’s breach in their entirety," Aeloria said plainly. "As it stands, the deeper seals of the starfire realm are bound to my presence. A confluence of my power directed at the enclave’s heart would see the sigils of that region severed from me in turn. Should that severance be complete, the collapse of the starfire region would not be contained within its boundaries – it would unravel the entire realm tethered to it."

Lucifer’s golden eyes narrowed. "How much power can you devote to the task without nearing that limit?"

"Enough to see it completed," Aeloria replied. "Not enough to see me past the point of no return. If I must serve as an auxiliary effort at the front lines, I must do so with that limit in mind. The garden I have helped build would see its foundations dissolve from within if I attempted to drive the enclave’s final seals into oblivion myself."

Such an outlook was deeply sobering, for Aeloria had served as the unspoken pillar holding much of the sealed region’s organization together. The realization of her limitations, however, was an equally sobering prospect for all of them personally, as the prospect of the upcoming confrontation grew starker. Nyx, having overheard their exchange, arrived before Lucifer could respond. Her living darkness curled at her boots as she took in the details of the conversation.

"So, the gardener is unable to drive her efforts fully into the wall," Nyx remarked, fixing Aeloria with a steady gaze. "I would have expected as much sooner. You have been rationing your power since the crossing, after all."

Aeloria did not refute the remark. "With the schedule’s tightening and the drag’s spread, it is no longer a viable option to ration further. If the breach team requires a portion of my power to serve as a driving force against the enclave’s defenses, I must make do with what remains. I am able to offer assistance, and I am able to carve openings, but I am unable to serve as the spear."

Lucifer regarded the both of them. "Then what is your suggestion?"

Nyx’s black eyes were keen with intent as she spoke. "You, being already named the region’s prime fruit, are the being whose density output is the broadest among us while not being directly bound to the starfire seals. Aeloria is unable to be the spear, but you may well pick up the role. She would serve as your auxiliary, and I would cut the joints in turn. The rest of the company may well hold the space you carve for us." Aeloria’s hands tensed around the balustrade, but she did not speak. The weight of Nyx’s words settled heavily on the young man’s shoulders.

"That would see the largest portion of the risk fall on you," Aeloria observed quietly.

"The largest portion of this endeavor had already fallen to you," Nyx replied. "Both the being and the orb have been fed with the authority of your parents. The seats have begun to fail one after another in turn. There is no alternative plan for this breach which would see Lucifer posted in reserve while another takes up the role of spear. That version of events only exists for the preparations we have already completed with the time afforded to us. We no longer have the time to make such a plan."

Lucifer was silent for a long moment, his breath shallow. The bridge trembled slightly beneath their feet, the kitsune sigils flickering twice in succession before fading. He was thinking of the other beings bound to the orb, the ones who had watched him being fed to the growing clockwork. He was thinking of the metronome’s steady beat, and the words that had accompanied this portion of his design: that his power would be required as a future resource. He was thinking of the being’s words as she surveyed the sealed realm, stating plainly that his presence was the largest risk to the integrity of the garden that had taken root around them.

"I shall take the forefront, then," he said at last. "Aeloria is bound to a limit which sees the starfire region whole. Nyx carves the joints, and the rest of the company holds the breach we open for you. I will see you all to the final preparations under that order, and we will move forward as planned."

Aeloria closed her eyes briefly, opening them with the same steadiness as before when the cost of an undertaking was laid bare before them all. "Then the composition of the team would have to be altered, but not its name. I remain in the breach, but my role is changed to one of regulated support and rapid extraction. If the seals grow strained, I withdraw, period. That condition is non-negotiable."

Nyx inclined her head. "Accepted. Better a living gardener and a broken wall than a dead foundation and a sealed door."

Lucifer looked out over the distant darkness, where the hidden sector remained waiting. Their arrangements had grown stark before his eyes, as their time to act grew shorter with every passing moment. Aeloria’s power had its limits – the harvest would not be denied. The only alternative was to see his own power placed in the vanguard as the spear, and to trust that it would see them all through.

"I will see the roles locked in, then. Aeloria provides regulated support under her own limit, and Nyx cuts the joints. The rest of the company holds the space we carve, and the three of us see the last of the preparations completed under that order. We will move forward as planned."

No one contradicted him. On the bridge overlooking the unstable court of the kitsune, the plan for the breach took its sharpest turn. The gardener would not be the spear. Instead, it would fall to the hybrid among them to break the wall.

And the clock continued its steady ticking.