Book 2/43 - Domains are Unexpected Bitches

HANNA'S POV

Earlier


Slowly I was waking, the rough scraping on my wrist and the pressure on my ankles pulling me out of unconsciousness. I hated unconsciousness. It was like a dark room with nothing but you and a timer. If not for the timer I saw myself fretting and getting afraid of the darkness.

Opening my eyes I felt panick rising inside me s I still saw darkness. I felt it then, the pressure on my eyes. The blindfolded me. I frowned and moved. My hands were held in place. Tied too. So. Prisoner then. I glared my aura , I f I could find and call someone to me then maybe I could...something lashed myself aura. It was charged, harsh and strong. My aura withdrew and I nearly threw up from a soldier pain and pressure within me.

Strong. Too strong.

The aura was still there, this time wrapping around me gently and yet with a rough edge that promised discipline It I used my aura again. I stayed still and withheld my aura. It couldn't stop me from thinking though. And I had lot of thoughts.

Should I have waited?. Maybe.

Enthralling other Players was a bad idea and I should atleast waited to see their intentions and actions. Enthralling them was a last minute decision that I had to admit had not been well thought out.

I thought of how I could have done better or atleast used my enthralled better but nothing came to mind. That lightning throwing player is powerful.

The sound of material getting moved alerted me to something. My aura should tell me who entered but the aura holding it in place was annoying.

Something creaked and the sound of wood thumping in front of me told me where the figure was. Footfalls moved around me and to my. Hands gripped something at the back of my head and after a few seconds light filled my eyes.

My captor stepped out to my view and I looked up at gray eyes. There was a bland gaze to the pupils and the tied silver hair as well as the white robes gave him a regal look. I watched him sit without taking his eyes off me. I looked away for moment drawn by the sparks running up his arms and robes.

"I am Gha". His eyes stared without a word after his introduction before he waved his hand.

It was my fairy. She looked sad and relieved. I tugged on my bonds again and a sharp jolt of energy rocked me. I grumbled and tried talking through the gag.

Ghar leaned back on his chair and my fairy began talking. Her words were monotone and lacked feeling. I noticed the distance on her gaze but it was the words that made me stiffen.

It made sense why I was still alive though.

"The Aurelians and Celestians are not happy with your enthrallment. Especially Lord Leuil. He's pissed and rightly so".

I furrowed my brows.

"What were you thinking?. Enthralling them forever?". His expression didn't change on anyway and I found it creepy. "You've tarnished our image Hanna. You do know that?".

I said nothing he cared for no answer as he spoke on.

"Rhal wants you dead for good reason. The other Divine is yet to wake for now. I would want you dead but I'm not as personally invested. Plus ...". He waved to the fairy.

I kept glaring. He talked and talked and all through I tried pushing on the aura. More to get a reaction from. Him than to try escaping. Knowing who had the aura was wise.

"...join our Pantheon".

I didn't catch his words so I just stared as he remained silent. One minute, two minutes, he rose. Setting the chair next to a table he moved behind him. I tried to make it difficult for him by shaking my head but a jolt up my arm paused my attempts. My vision faded away and soon he was gone.

The aura stayed. An annoyance to me as I tried to flex my aura through it. It was like trying to get through a chain link. Searching for holes or weaknesses. There was none.

I stopped using my aura to try getting away. Instead I focused on studying the aura around me. It was not fluid. It was definitely divine, which meant it was from one of the players. It didn't react when I moved to touch it but did when my aura did.

The jolts told me that it was indeed that Gray eyed Divine's aura.

He has a good poker face.

I studied the aura more. It didn't look too powerful but it definitely was too much for. Me to overcome. I could sense two layers to it. One a silver hue and the other white. Had to differentiate due to their colors and presence.

I didn't get a skill for my hardwork which annoyed me but I definitely found some good news. Useless but good either way. Ghar's aura didn't cover the ground.

I considered all the reasons. His aura could be made of lightning. I shook my head in disbelief. Firstly there were two auras. No way both were weak to earth. It left me wondering why the earth wasn't covered. As much as I considered I couldn't figure out why.

Doesn't matter though. I sighed in an exhale. I can't exactly control the earth and drop in.

A way was a way though so I kept pushing my aura down through the floor. It did nothing but I kept trying many things. Pushing the earth, imagining the hole. Nothing worked.

____


It had to be called torture. There was no way it wasn't. Electrocuting me till I past out had no other term.

Is the ground moving below me?. I paused in confusion as the floor and my body swayed. Wait did my idea finally work.

I tried to reflexively see and it worked. My blindfold. Sharply I took a look around. I met green eyes. Familiar ones that had once been distant and clouded while she shielded me from attacks. Her black hair making the glow stand out.

I grimaced. Isis.


Beside her to my right was the Light wielded. The one I was certain wanted me dead. Rhal. His golden locks glinted in the daylight and gave the room a subtle glow. The final occupant was Ghar. His gray eyes already locked on her. The same boat expression coated this face and eyes.

The room lurched and shook. A carriage. Were in a carriage. But where to?. My eyes must have held the question as Ghar spoke in reply. That or he was just telling me.

"We're headed to the City of Slyhos".

"Try not to enthrall them too". The voice sounded antagonistic. I met Rhal's golden eyes which burned with a fervent desire. I knew instantly that he would kill me if given a moments chance.

I turned back to Isis. The dislike and caution was there. But she didn't have the single minded desire for my death that Rhal held in his eyes.

"Have you decided?". Ghar asked. I frowned looking at him. The choice he wished for me to make was one that I didn't exactly like. Not because it affected me, but because I felt it was not my choice. I didn't throw myself into working, and being the best to lack money and power.

"We both know you can't be trusted to not come after us if we let you go. Besides we need to be Five to take on the coming war. Stop making the decision hard when you know what the choice should be".

His words were true and it struck a chord in me. What was it the said in lae. Ones freedom should not trespass into another's freedom. I turned away from him.

His aura still held me. This time though it encompassed the carriage floor. So he has a weakness to earth or something. I looked out the window. The carriage was rumbling past a large mountain. The trees there swayed freely, the green dotting it's expanse giving a sight of beauty. My sharp vision caught the sight of an animal up there.


Would my aura work from this far?. The thought of it working, the animal rushing down here and then distracting. I caught the glimpse of a rider. A Celestian. Only to get killed.

I thought back to the deer I'd killed for its essence orb. I didn't feel anything for its loss of life. The lion I'd controlled into fighting for me. I didn't feel regret for it either. It got away and it tried to kill me too.i looked to Rhal qms Isis. They did nothing to warrant my attack.

I had not thought of killing them. Neither had I considered taking their orbs. I looked to Ghar then to the others. From how he acted, how he met her. Rhal's gaze and Isis caution he was the only thing keeping me alive.

It was clear Rhal could have fought him to kill me. Or even done it when Ghar didn't expect it. But he followed Ghar's instruction. Maybe due to the need for Five.

I needed to find a way to have them know I wouldn't enthrall anyone but also accept Ghar's proposition on my terms.


----

Present


As the carriage came to a halt and the Wild Horses are encircled for protection, the tense atmosphere continued to build. The Realm Touched creatures closed in from both the mountain and the rear, their menacing forms clearly visible now.

Ghar stood on the carriage, his aura crackling with charged power, gray eyes scanning the approaching threat. He looked calm and focused his thoughts hidden by the bland expression he wore. Isis, next to him, readied herself, her own divine energy coalescing around her as she prepares to conjure defensive shields.

Rhal, gripping his sword of light, watched the horizon for the right moment to strike, eager to face the oncoming battle but wary of their vulnerable position. A fight on two fronts after all was no favourable. He glanced over at Ghar. "Are we sure this will work?"

Ghar nods, his voice steady. "It has to."

Hanna in the carriage below, bound and unable to participate—was their main problem . If she decided to break her bindings and attempt to escape or enthrall them. Isis and Rhal stare at Ghar again. Atleast he can subdue were their thoughts.

Isis concentrates, shaping her essence into protective into the shapes she needs as the creatures surge closer. She glances back at Rhal and Ghar. "I think I should stay back and keep the horses and guards shielded. Ghar can thin the front and Rhal should handle the rear."

Rhal nodded, his light made sword glowing brighter. "With pleasure."

"Between the two of us we can filter just enough for the guards to handle".

"Not like they can't hold their own".Rhal pointed out.

"They can. But we're outnumbered". Isis chided.

"True".

As the Realm Touched monsters descend upon them, the battle began. Isis dropped down the carriage and quickly activated shields. Ghar threw his lightning, striking down the creatures with precision, while Rhal leaped into the fight at the rear. His light blade slicing through the dark forms.

Everyone fought hard. The Aurelians moving around on quick movements. Cleaving the monsters with blades of light or even light beams. The Celestians were more dangerous though. Appearing and disappearing where they chose to cut down an unsuspecting creature.

But as the battle raged on, there was a subtle shift in the air—a faint but unmistakable pulse of energy from the carriage. Isis's eyes narrowed. "Hanna?."

Ghar had warned her of any hint of her Aura spelling doom herself. But now, with the battle reaching its peak, it remained unclear whether she would act on her defiance or continue biding her time. Either way, the Divine knew they had to finish this fight swiftly—before Hanna had ideas.

The fighting was chaotic, and the Elder Divines were locked in combat, each wielding their power with the level of precision they'd trained. The Realm Touched creatures charged relentlessly, bipedal and quadrupedal beasts, their alien forms emitting auras of hunger and rage.

Ghar’s lightning arced across the battlefield, striking down clusters of the monsters with thunderous precision. Rhal’s sword of light flashed as he cut through the enemy, moving with speed yet lacking grace. Isis maintained her focus which was hard when she had various guards to protect. Her divinity, wrapping around the horses and guards in powerful shields that shimmered.

Yet amidst the chaos, Isis’s attention kept being drawn to the faint but steady pulse of energy emanating from the carriage below.

Hanna.

Her presence kept Isis attention split. As much as she refused to admit it her caution around the Divine was too much.

Ghar has it under control.

A glance at the danger around pushed her to focus. Ghar already warned her about using her power, but that pulse—it wasn’t an attack, yet—what is she doing?...

“Eyes forward, Isis!” Rhal’s voice broke through her concentration as he sliced through another Realm Touched creature. She fumbled s she realized her black of focus had dimmed the shields.

“We’ve got this.” His reassurance didn't help as these creatures were not her problem.

Isis refocused, pushing the thoughts of Hanna aside for the moment. The creatures were too many, too relentless she couldn't allow any distraction. She reinforced the shields them added flat shields in the parts of the monsters to reduce their numbers.

Ghar, perched atop the carriage above her continued to direct bolts of lightning into the creatures, his mastery of his perk or his domain evident as each strike hit with deadly accuracy. The monsters didn't just burn the became ash.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled, and a roar echoed from the mountain. A massive form emerged towering above the other Realm Touched. A hulking creature, its body covered in jagged stone-like armor, four eyes glowing with grayish light.

“Rhal, Ghar, we’ve got a big one!” Isis shouted..

Ghar’s eyes narrowed as he assessed the large golem like monster. “Keep the shields strong Isis. Rhal, focus on the smaller ones—I’ll handle that one.”

Rhal glanced at Ghar but nodded, trusting his plan. “Don’t get yourself killed, Thunderer.” He turned his attention back to the swarming creatures, cutting down more with a powerful swing of his light blade.

Ghar leaped from the carriage roof, a streak of white lightning trailing behind him as he crossed the monsters below racing for the encirclement. Dark clouds formed at a surprising speed.z lightning flashing and thunder rumbling behind. Landing with a crackling burst of energy that speed out in a circle, the monsters close enough vanished and the earth turned black.

His gray eyes locked onto the massive creature, and the air around him hummed with power. Lightning coiled around his arms, and a golden light shimmer into life on his skin. Ghar clapped both hands together with a thunderous clap that unleashed a torrent of electricity, striking the creature head-on.

The beast bellowed in pain, staggering back It stopped its backwards totter and stepped forward undeterred, its stone armor glowing red-hot under the barrage.

Isis watched in awe as Ghar fought, but her instincts kept pulling her gaze toward the carriage. That pulse---. Suddenly, a surge of blue energy flared from inside. Hanna.

“No!” Isis shouted, but it was too late. The pulse spread out in a blue transparent sphere.

The creatures seemed to hesitate for a brief moment, their movements faltering as if responding to the shift in energy. Ghar, mid-battle with the hulking creature, felt it too. His eyes flashed with realization as he stepped to the side and glared at the carriage.

“She’s trying something,” he growled, his voice echoing with thunder. The golem unlike the others recovered quickly from the pulse and brought its fists down , gray light shining on them. Ghar sidestepped and with a lightning coated fist he struck the beast again.

Yet his attention wasn't on it. His mind locked on the bonds that held the Divine inside there. It would be easy so easy. All he had to do was fry her brain. We bloody need her.

Inside the carriage, Hanna’s bonds shimmered with electricity, Ghar’s domain keeping her restrained, but the blue-eyed Enthraller’s Aura pulsed in defiance. Her gaze burned with intent as she tested the limits of her bindings.

"It was his domains eh". She sounded surprised as she looked at it with new light. "I guess he was right when he said he could end me".

Isis, still next to the carriage, gripped the door and pulled it open sharply, staring at the blue eyed woman. “Hanna, stop! If you do this, Ghar will end you!”

Hanna’s eyes flicked to Isis, full of cold defiance, and amusement. But she said nothing, only allowing a small, knowing smile to play at the edge of her lips. Blue energy coated her arms and her eyes pulsed brightly. Like the ocean was within them.

Rhal, now clearing the last of the smaller creatures, finally turned his attention to the growing tension inside the carriage. It was more than tension, there was a blue light growing brighter in less than seconds. “Is she—”

Before he could finish, the ground shook again, but this time not from the mountain beast. It was from behind.

More Realm Touched surged onto the battlefield, this new wave larger and more organized. And with them, at the rear, another hulking form emerged, this one clad in a glowing, ethereal blue mist. It was four legged and larger than the carriage itself.

Ghar, still engaged with the first giant creature, spared a glance at the new arrival. “Great. A golem , a Beast and Hanna". His expression remained firm and didn't shift in anyway even as he grumbled.

Rhal gritted his teeth, the weight of the situation crashing down on them. “We’re outnumbered. We can’t keep this up.” The threat here wasn't even these creatures but Hanna sneaking on them while the fought. His palms tightened around his sword of light.

Isis cast a glance at the guards, still protected behind her shields. The Wild Horses neighed and stomped, sensing the danger surrounding them. She turned back to Hanna who's blue light was now mixed with green as well.

"Don't do this". A grin was the only reply Hanna gave. Whatever she was waiting for though was here as she flexed her arms.

Next to the Golem Ghar paused then turned to the carriage. He flexed his will. Q fist of stone smashed him into the ground.

Hanna's smile widened. The bonds stretched and flashed dangerously. Isis stepped back visibly seeing the currents running over the Enthraller's hands. Hanna bared her teeth, and with a grunt she tugged the bonds apart. Blue and green light flashed bright, lightning cracked and shook the carriage tearing it's rear apart.

Isis stepped back immediately eyes never leaving the Enthraller. After the meeting and their decision to take Hanna with them to Slyhos she'd made some preparations. The problem was having no way to test it and as such having no idea of she was mentally safe.

Ghar’s lightning flared brighter, his frustration growing as he shook the golem off him. Use it. He darted forward punching the golem with his lightning fists. "No". He kicked it and punched more. Kicking off and away he raised both hands and lightning flashed in the sky. The golem stomped to him.

He brought his hands down. A thick bolt of lightning crashed on it. Head first it pulverized stone to glass particles.

The golem's lower body crashed to the ground. Ghar mentally sighe. "I didn't get it".

Rocks and upturned earth rolled and gathered itself to reform the golem's missing parts.

Isis watched and waited, a golden shield of light forming in front of her ready to any attacks. Please work.

Hanna stepped away from the destroyed carriage. Both ladies ignored the frantic neighs of the terrified horses. Hanna had a crooked grin on her lips.

How did she even get rid of the gag. Isis shook her head. No, how did she free herself. Where did this new power come ... Domain.

The realization made Isis feel tired. Dropping her hands she stared at Hanna. "You got a domain didn't you?".

Hanna's lips twitched but she spoke. "Plural". The Divine left her in-game sister standing there in frozen shock as she marched past the encircled guards. Aurelians and Celestians alike fled from her side as the watched the Enthraller step past them.

Hanna stopped moving as the first of the monsters got to her. Blue eyes became torches and the blue glow oozed from her hands. She raised the left up and brought it down faster. All the monsters coming from the rear were crushed to the ground. It was like an invincible weight held them.

Isis couldn't see what the guards couldn't though. The same blue energy from Hanna's hands holding the animals down.

"You can kill them now". She adviced. No one moved of course and several eyes turned to Isis who just nodded before meeting Hanna's gaze. The Enthraller dipped her head softly.

"Hey Thunderer". Ghar rolled to the side and sent a sharp glance to his right in the direction of the carriage. He blinked on seeing her there. Hanna stood proud as behind her guards cut down the monsters who just let them. Huh.

The shaking earth told him it was coming for him. Pushing tonhis feet, hands charged with lightning and eyes a glaring white he was ready to punch. The golem froze. Green light colored its body. He stared in surprise z face bland as it just stood there.

"This cost essense you know. Strike for the lower left abdomen. That's where it's core is currently".

Ghar turned again to Hanna who had a grin. HE glanced back to the golem. Throwing out his left hand lightning flash out and drilled through the entire left abdomen.

The notifications that came in confirmed it's death.

"I got something for helping too. Nice". She spoke again and Ghar moved. An essence orb drained to nothing and in flash of lightning he and Hanna were left to the remnants of the carriage. Her back to it and his left hand gripping her throat he leveled a lightning blade.a5 her face.

Ghar didn't say a word. Hanna grimaced and Isis rushed to their side. "Even after all that, you still have that dead look". Hanna murmured. Ghar said nothing z his eyes lacking amusement or caution searched hers.

"Rhal needs us. That thing won't die anytime soon if he fights it alone. Plus I need to make it up to him". Hanna blinked at the male. The lightning blade lowered and he stepped back. Gray eyes turned and met green eyes then back to Hanna. H4 nodded.

"Then we'll trust you.”

Isis looked at him in shock. “What? You want to *release* her?”

“She’s already released and useful in a fight,” Ghar looked at her again.

The air crackled and then there was thunder and no Ghar.

Hanna sighed and rubbed her throat. "I guess we can give ourselves bruises eh". She and Isis exchanged glances. "What?".

"How?".

Hanna blinked. Then she looked behind Isis at the ongoing fight. Ghar was already next to the large beast and trying to hamstring it. "Battles seem to be good opportunities for growth".

Leaving her behind to think on it she walked forward to help take out the remaining monsters.

Rhal sighed in exasperation and a bit of anger after Ghar explained what just happen. Still he knew the gray eyes lightning thrower meant well. I'm the one who's drowning in my amger and need for revenge. Its just a game. He nodded reluctantly while cutting at the beast's side with speed while Ghar held its attention.

“Fine. But if she steps out of line—”

“She won’t get the chance,” Ghar said firmly."Besides, it won't matter even if she did".

Rhal formed another spear of light and hurled at the thing's rear. "Why?". Backpedalling as it charger him in rage he listened as Ghar answered while throwing up light shields in front of him.

"Cause she now has her domains". It almost made Rhal get eaten. Fortunately Ghar sent a deadly bolt of lightning through the things leg and gave him a chance to flee.

"Domains it seems are unexpected".

"Unexpected bitches".

Back at the carriage Isis followed after Hanna. Grabbing and stopping the goddess she glared with a sharp eye.

“Don’t think this changes anything,” Isis warned, her green eyes streeling. “We still don’t trust you.”

Hanna smiled, taking her hand back as her Aura rippled through the rear battlefield, bending the animals to their knees. “I don’t need your trust to help us win what comes.”