Bonded Summoner

Book 9. Chapter 38: The Calamity’s Wake

Almost two weeks went by as they searched for their targets, and during that time, they claimed a few Middle-grade nodes and a dozen Low-grade nodes and collected tons of beast cores and other treasures as they searched.

In all, it was quite the haul, and Jake was impressed at how quickly they could earn treasures. Thanks to his family’s unique set of skills, he would rate it much more highly than the dungeon.

But he could see its limits. Many of the nodes they found disappeared, and he knew that many of them would not regenerate for a year or more. If they scoured the whole world clean in a few months, they wouldn’t be able to have this level of density for quite some time again.

Jake was happy that he had gotten his bloodline under control before they arrived and that he didn’t have to worry about venting any further while they hunted for Bree’s sisters. He had received two traits as a result of...venting with his wives and Sati’s spiritual distillery.

[Void Cells Upgraded: A large percentage of your void cells have now assimilated the Yin Flames of Death. Granting your body enhanced properties matching the energy they have stored, the Yin Flames of Death provide resilience against necrotic and spiritual degradation, umbral shrouding, and an entropic touch that erodes enemy mana and barriers.]

[Resonance Unlocked: The opposing flaming energies of Life and Death have formed a stable conceptual orbit within your void cells.

Passive Resonance Bonus: Samsaric Anchor. You now passively recycle ambient decay to sustain your own vitality. Furthermore, the immense conceptual gravity of this cycle provides a dense, stabilizing anchor against external and internal volatility.]

[Somatic Equilibrium Shift: The compounding of Yang (Life) and Yin (Death), and the resonance, has stabilized a critical portion of your vessel's internal architecture. You are no longer in danger, but remain lightly unbalanced.]

It wasn’t a surprise that this one was first with what Sati’s priestesses were feeding him. But also because Jake frequently used forms of deathly flames to temper when paired with Ophelia and Tanda, Bloodberri, or Avalara for years at this point. It seemed as he reached the peak of his Tier and used peak materials, he was really starting to raise the effectiveness of every single session.

He had tried out the ‘entropic touch’ and found it interesting that he could make a decaying curse of sorts with just his hands. But he didn’t think he’d be using it much unless it was aligned as a perfect conceptual counter–a rock to someone’s scissors. Or if he ran completely out of other resources, he supposed, as the touch was almost always beaten by a sharp stab of his spear anyhow. Thankfully, he could choose when to use it, as opposed to it being active at all times. It would have really sucked to have to wear gloves just to hold his children or wives or to have to design some kind of artifact to cancel the touch.

The second Void Cell upgrade came almost just before they arrived at The Great Maw. It was largely a result of all the preparation he had done with Nessa to form her Hearthian Bond, their recent, focused push moving him the final length of the way. Fhesiah had refined a ton of materials they had prepared for the water moon but ultimately hadn’t needed them, and Sati’s spiritual distillery helped uplift them even further. This produced results quickly.

[Void Cells Upgraded: A localized density of your void cells has assimilated the crushing depths of the Yin Essence of the Abyssal Trench. You have accumulated aquatic compression, granting your body thermal dampening and passive suppression of erratic resonance.]

[Imperfect Resonance Unlocked: The opposing energies of the Celestial Sky and the Deep Ocean have formed a stable, yet compromised, conceptual orbit.

Passive Bonus: Sub-Nadir Pressure Cycle. You may passively absorb kinetic and atmospheric turbulence, storing it as hydrostatic pressure to release in explosive bursts of kinetic acceleration.]

[Somatic Warning Update: The heavy stillness of the Abyssal Trench acts as an asymmetrical anchor against the Yang (Zenith) storm. Severe Somatic Imbalance averted. Equilibrium is now largely stabilized.]

It was an odd message, but Fhesiah had helped Jake understand. The true opposing element to the Zenith was the Nadir, the lowest grounding force of the earth. Jake had established a conceptual resonance using the Abyssal Trench instead, a lesser one. But the bonus was still significant, and it was an excellent benefit for who they were about to face. When Jake’s cells ate lightning, he would speed up significantly.

And it anchored his Void Cells in a major way, preventing him from becoming imbalanced once more. If he got off-balance by two traits again, it probably wouldn’t be as catastrophic–he was now more balanced than he was when he first earned the Yang Flames of Life.

However...it wasn’t all good news. He now saw a limit to his Void Cells and the number of traits he could accumulate.

He had gotten another message that he had nearly reached the maximum resonance in his Void Cells. At the Bloodline Rating of B, he could only reach three Resonant Cycles, or six Traits. Thus, Jake had to either improve his Bloodline or move toward his most desired goal: a resonance with items that matched Avalara’s Auril and Nethril.

This was fine, as he would be working toward Bree’s and an entire planetary core’s Hearthian Bond next. So much auril and nethril would undoubtedly be filtered and elevated by his void furnace over the coming months that he would definitely form a new trait.

Despite receiving a few hints at Sati’s outpost and some at the two Ophelia visited, the Adventurer’s information was unfortunately outdated regarding Bree’s sisters. They had seen something like the two alliance beasts months ago, though they noted that there were three instead.

It was Avalara who found the first actual hint of their quarry. It was in the sweltering jungle around the equator instead of deep into the north, going against their expectations. However, it was like the weather had been changed to match, like winter suddenly struck only an area of it.

Jake allowed his wives to finish off any events before he used Reverse Summon to arrive near Avalara and brought the rest of his wives using Call Summon.

The sheer scale of the anomaly became clear as soon as Jake stepped through the void. The dense, humid environment had been violently overwritten. Broadleaf jungle ferns, caught in the flash-freeze, stood perfectly preserved in crystal before snapping like cheap glass under their boots. A trail of pristine, howling winter stretched for miles, cutting straight through the canopy and leading to a sprawling, snow-capped mountain peak that had no business existing near the equator.

It was hundreds of miles worth of frost.

Bree looked at it with a bit of surprise. “I don’t think my sister did all of this–it’s a bit much for the Second Tier, even if it took her weeks. Isolyn probably had some help with the nearby Primal Dominion Node.”

“Why would she bother converting all this?” Ophelia asked, adjusting her grip on her polearm from Valora’s back. “It took some effort, right?”

Bree nodded. “Definitely. As for why, there are three Primal Dominion Nodes within this large valley. Sure, it’s nearly a thousand miles between each one, but by claiming this space, it gives them a decent home base to push toward others. Anything able to contest such nodes would be seen trying to enter the valley, and they can hoof it back before someone can claim them. And face them on favorable turf.”

He also noticed from his mental map that it was near a central area of unclaimed Primal Dominion Nodes; more than just the three. There were others claimed by different guilds of the Alliance all over the world, and so the two beasts probably assumed they would continue to protect those. This allowed them to fixate on this quadrant and claim nearly a third of what they needed to win the world.

“So... should we check and see if they’re home, or?” Ruby asked, floating up slightly to get a better view.

Bree chuckled. “Nah, their mountain looks all set up, and their letter said they were bored. I bet they’re after that Tartaran Primal Dominion Node. The other reasons I mentioned helped them pick here, but that’s the real reason they set up shop here. Tartarus is definitely the more exciting fight to be had here.”

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She pointed off to the distance, where the valley thinned drastically. It almost looked like a desert, but it looked...darker, and it had a purple tint to the earth.

Ophelia took off on Valora, with Fhesiah joining on the longma’s back. As they flew closer, the true nature of the special enemy node revealed itself past the corrupted landscape. Pale, towering trees with bark like flaking bone stretched across the valley floor, their thick, interwoven branches completely choking out the sun beneath. Under the Tartarean Domain's influence, the pale leaves wept a thick, violet sap that vaporized into a toxic, foul-smelling mist, smelling of rotten sugar and ozone.

And right in the center of that blighted canyon, an event was in progress. The sky above the Tartarean-held Primal Dominion Node was a violent, swirling bruise, rotating like a slow-motion hurricane over a massive, fortified stronghold built directly into the petrified wood of the canopy.

Jake, currently riding Fhesiah’s senses through the Hearth tether, analyzed the situation.

Claiming a High-grade Primal Node was often a faction-level commitment. When the Alliance conquered and established a Primal Dominion, the incredible spiritual weight altered the geography, filtering out the weak and ensuring only the true apex predators of the world could challenge them.

Tartarus, however, acted like a virus. The enemy drove an Anchor of Corruption into the leylines when they claimed the node. The Anchor didn’t permanently damage or lessen the node’s potential, but it violently hijacked the output, bleeding a more malevolent, chaotic mana into the surroundings and converting the flora and native beasts into twisted, loyal thralls. It also produced a tainted version of the usual output of the node.

Because it was a hostile infection, the world’s immune system constantly reacted in a feverish frenzy, sending relentless waves of uncorrupted beasts to purge the blight. But reclaiming it wasn’t...quite an instant process.

If the Alliance shattered the Anchor, the node would enter a Purification Phase to clean up the surrounding leylines. The world’s immune system may not necessarily immediately understand the infection was dead, meaning the Alliance might have to hold the line against the frenzied beasts until the Framework fully cleansed the territory.

Normally, anyway. Something told him Bree or her sisters wouldn’t really have this issue, judging by how effortlessly Bloodberri gained friends in this world.

As Ophelia got close enough, she received a notification.

[Primal Dominion Node Discovered: The Ashen Canopy]

[Status: Corrupted (Tartarus)]

[Event Active: Primal Purge]

[Objective: Shatter the Anchor of Corruption. Survive the Immune Tides and eliminate all Tartarean Defenders to cleanse the Node.]

[Looks like we missed the opening bell,] Fhesiah’s voice echoed through the mental link, carrying a hint of dark amusement as she peered through the bruised clouds. [And it looks like your sisters brought guests, Bree.]

Jake shared Fhesiah’s perspective and looked over things before he Reverse Summoned and brought everyone over to the box canyon, the family fanning out to see everything with their own eyes. They materialized on a high stone ridge–close enough to feel the chaotic static from the storm prickling their skin, but high enough above the tree line to remain utterly ignored by the carnage below.

Down in the Ashen Canopy, the Tartarean stronghold was in chaos. The defensive walls, constructed from blackened, corrupted timber, were currently being battered by a tidal wave of native beasts. Hundreds of massive, uncorrupted jungle predators–armored panthers, razor-beaked raptors, venomous serpentine drakes, and more–were aggressively throwing themselves at the Tartarean gates.

And there were hundreds of werewolf hunters defending. An entire tribe, to Jake’s surprise.

“They didn’t tame them,” Bree laughed, a deep, rumbling sound of pure pride. “Tartarus was already dealing with the world’s immune system. My sisters just weaponized the geography a bit more to make their job easier.”

Despite her prideful grin, Jake felt the heavy, erratic thrum of her auril heart and her emotions through their bond. Her forge-fire flared aggressively within her chest, a primal instinct physically fighting back against the creeping chill of her sister's domain rolling off the valley floor. Beneath the confident bravado, a coiled, instinctual tension vibrated deep in her bones–the ancient anxiety of facing an apex predator.

She caught Jake’s eye, her emerald gaze searching his. He just flared his Void-Divine Hearth, sending a wave of confidence directly through the bond. Bree let out a slow breath, the tension bleeding out of her massive shoulders as she leaned into his presence, her resolve visibly hardening. She believed in the strength they had built together.

He looked back down at the sheer scale of what Isolyn had done. It seemed she hadn’t just frozen the ground; she had erected two massive, sheer walls of diamond-hard glaciers, effectively carving a massive walled coverage for the beasts to move in on the hunters and the wall. The wall shook as they fought against it, cracks forming as they attacked.

Bree said, “By creating that glacial canyon, they froze out the weak and protected the flanks, leaving only one unfrozen, high-density path leading straight to the Anchor. They corralled the planet’s immune response and fired it like an arrow from a bow.”

It was a smart, natural strategy. The Tartarean defenders–a brutal-looking tribe of werewolf hunters heavily modified with dark magic–were scrambling along the natural battlements on the cliffs, firing heavy arrows and chaotic dark spells down into the localized beast tide. But it seemed they were unable to hit anything significant thanks to the tall wall of frost.

The beasts, undeterred by the chaotic mana and the arrows, eventually destroyed the walls and rushed in. The defending werewolf warriors within the camp were ready, but they were vastly outnumbered. The expectation appeared to be that they should have been whittled away by their defenses.

And they were completely unaware of the true threat waiting just beyond the treeline.

Through the pouring, unnatural rain of the purple clouds, the temperature plummeted so fast that the falling droplets froze into jagged hail that pinged sharply off Jake's armor even up on the ridge. A massive glacial hound, easily two stories tall, stepped out of the frozen mist at the mouth of the box canyon. The giant simply exhaled a shockingly long-ranged breath of frost across the battlements.

The cold was heavy and oppressive. Werewolves firing from the upper parapets froze mid-draw, toppling over the edge to shatter like glass on the stone below. Some called upon their chaotic mana, a dark haze billowing off their fur in a desperate bid to stave off the freeze, but the hound merely charged into the camp. Every swipe of its heavy claws sent frozen, broken bodies flying through the corrupted mist.

At the back of the camp, near the glowing violet Anchor, a giant, heavily mutated werewolf drew the bruise-colored energy directly into its veins. Its body swelled, ripping through its armor as it roared out a furious challenge.

Suddenly, the purple clouds above the stronghold violently parted.

A deafening crack of thunder shook the entire valley, so loud Jake felt the shockwave rattle his teeth. A blinding pillar of emerald lightning slammed directly through the giant werewolf and into the Anchor behind it. The smell of burning fur and raw ozone flooded the ridge, momentarily overpowering the stench of the corruption. The kinetic blast shattered the gem-like structure of the Anchor, and the giant werewolf’s body simply burst from the sheer pressure and heat, its flaming remains scattered across the courtyard.

Flying downward in a dive, the other sister showed herself. She had light-tan-colored, feathery fur and bright yellow, bird-like eyes. Ainora arrested her momentum flawlessly, hovering right in front of the shattered Anchor.

“Dead in one hit? Absolute trash.” Ainora’s voice echoed through the ambient mana, rumbling like a localized earthquake.

A static storm spread out from her body, jolts of lightning periodically striking the Anchor and removing the last jagged pieces of gemstone as she floated there, visibly bored. Meanwhile, frost spread out from Isolyn as she casually strolled through the monster camp. The werewolf enemy’s weaponry largely just bounced off her thick coat, and the creeping frost eventually enveloped the desperate hunters, freezing the blood in their veins through almost no effort of her own.

The two looked entirely disinterested in the slaughter, but nothing escaped their notice. An archer drew their bow from a blind spot behind Ainora, only for a stray bolt of lightning to instantly drop him from above. An angry werewolf roared as he charged Isolyn's flank, but a shard of ambient ice shot forward and lodged itself perfectly in the beast’s heart, dropping him silently into the snow.

Eventually, the last of the werewolves fell, and the Anchor was completely scrubbed from the earth by the sheer static field radiating from Ainora.

A wave of purification swept outward, aggressively scouring the lingering Tartarean corruption from the air. The heavy, polluted atmosphere evaporated, taking the sickly sweet smell of rot with it. The node returned to a natural, biting death-chill that matched the Ashen Canopy's pale, petrified aesthetic.

Isolyn casually swiped her paw, clearing out the last of the frozen werewolf hunters. Then she turned her massive head toward the surviving pack of native beasts that had breached the gate.

“This is our territory now. You all. Get lost.”

As the massive predators instantly tucked their tails and scrambled over each other to flee the clearing, Jake let out a low whistle. The corruption was gone, the node was actively purifying the surrounding leylines, and the sheer glacial walls of the box canyon had formed the perfect, isolated arena. They had conquered that node with just the two of them...and a ton of neutral beasts, of course, with practiced efficiency. Even if some kind of true Tartarus villain showed up, like some kind of Champion or other Divine Entity, they would have been able to face them at full strength.

Jake stepped right up to the edge of the stone ridge, the freezing, rotting wind of the Ashen Canopy whipping at his cloak. His wives stood all around him, silently watching the dust settle over the frozen graveyard below.

“Well,” Jake murmured, looking down at the two demigods. “I guess this is it; we’ve found them.”