Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter Thirty-Four: Masked Detachment

"That's the other thing that we have to keep in mind about Alba," Zelda pointed out. "They've been around for a very long time. They've been alive longer than any of us have by multiple hundred years." She looked over to Lana, and her pointed gaze made it clear that the robotic girl was the one exception to this rule. "They have been preparing their magic all this time, and that means that we have to do what we can to defeat them together. We'll have to work as a group if we want to come anywhere close to defeating them. Do you all understand me?"

Nods rose up from the crowd, and Jay once again forced herself to look away. That was the last thing that she wanted to hear from Zelda given what had happened in the past, but she couldn't say that out loud. In fact, Jay wasn't even sure if she wanted to talk about it. She just wanted to forget about everything that had happened previously even if she knew better than anyone that this was not going to be an option for a long time. In fact, it was up for debate as to if it would ever be a choice that she could select from. 

"I'll be looking forward to seeing what we accomplish as a group then," Zelda declared. She began to walk away soon afterwards, and her motions were quick and stilted, a clear sign that the meeting was about to be finished. 

Tuila took her place at the front of the group, and her voice echoed across the walls of the training hall. "Surely all of you were able to sense the power that came with Alba's attack on the castle recently. That makes it clear that this is not a mage that we want to be trifling with. We have to bring all the strength that we have at our disposal if we want to find a way to defeat them, so I expect all of you to be as ready as possible. Continue your training and find out how to elevate your magic. Do you understand me?"

Once again, everyone nodded. This time, everyone seemed even more tense than they had been when Zelda had posed the question, a clear sign of the influence that Tuila held within the space. When she was satisfied, Tuila smiled to herself and nodded. "In that case, I'm going to dismiss this meeting. Do what you have to in order to get stronger and get ready for the coming battle. It isn't going to be an easy one. Fighting against Mersall wasn't simple either, but I have no doubt that this is going to be even more difficult when push comes to shove. The Lakinya have been living in secret for longer than any of us can even hope to dream of understanding, and we have to keep that in mind as we get ready for the coming encounter against Alba and potentially other members of their team."

Jay frowned to herself, not liking the sound of that at all. She knew that the fight against Alba was going to be intense after the struggle that they had already forced the group to put up with the first time, but the notion that they could have been stronger than Mersall was beyond unsettling. Mersall had been strong enough, and he was able to waltz into the Fearbringer group and take it over without batting an eyelash. That was beyond concerning to Jay, to imagine that there was someone even more powerful, but it wasn't as if there was much of a way for her to think about it productively. 

If she thought about all the ways that she was going to be put in a poor position by the encounter against Alba, she would never be able to focus. Jay did her best to put it out of her mind, though that was much easier said than done. She would find a way to come out on top as far as this battle was concerned, even if she had no ideas as to how she was going to even come close. She had to try though, and Jay was going to hold on to the bitter end if that was what it took. 

"Meeting dismissed," Tuila declared, giving the okay for everybody to go their separate ways. The room burst into quiet chatter at her words, and Jay realized that nobody had wanted to say anything despite their nerves because of how terrifying Tuila was by nature. Zelda was in much the same boat, but Tuila was the one who was running the show, and nobody dared to oppose her or do anything to earn her ire. Given that Tuila was even more stressed than usual as of late, this feeling had only begun to grow stronger, not that Jay could blame anybody for feeling this way.