Veins of blue clawed their way up Four's face, her body writhing with power.

Sylas exhaled a breath, looking toward Four, and then up to the skies. The other members of the Seeing Eye Guild didn't seem to see it fit to join, but that was because the strongest existence he could see amongst them were of the B-tier. They simply weren't good enough.

But then there were other C-tiers, a few geniuses that Sylas assumed were ranked lower than Four and the others were. But they were even more sure of not participating. If they weren't good enough to take down Sylas with Four, Five, and Six working together, what would someone ranked Eleven do?

They all began to lament the poor timing of everything. One, Two, and Three were occupied in the short term. They should be here any minute, but the idea that Sylas had already killed Five and Six was a huge blow to them.

There was a massive dividing line between those ranked in the top four and everyone else, and the gap only continued to increase when comparing Three and Four, versus Three and Two, and especially Two and One. But the gap between them and Five might as well have been a chasm that was much the same.

There was no point at all, and when they felt Sylas' gaze on them, every one of them stiffened as though a beast's eyes had landed on them.

Right now, their only hope to keep their lives was Four.

Streaks of silvery blue formed around Four, her blood boiling away in the chill.

Sylas looked back to her. By now, he could hear the name of her Aether being whispered into his ears. It was called Touching Silk, a fleeting, almost ethereal sort of Aether. One without form or substance that could seep into everything. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

It was omnipresent and especially difficult to control. It was even more difficult to detect. The fluttering illusory veil that surrounded Four now was little more than the tip of the iceberg. The reason Sylas had felt the entire city shake was quite literally because the depths of the Aether went that far.

Sylas had to admit that it was the most enigmatic Aether he had ever seen.

Until now, most of the Aether he came across was elemental. This was the first time he had come across an Aether that wasn't reflecting a sort of element, but instead an idea.

On the one hand, that had made it even easier for Sylas to understand. But on the other, it carried hard to detect secrets as well. If Four used it in a more clever way, it would be harder to shred apart like he had before.

One thing was clear to Sylas: Four was definitely on another level from the others.

Five, who should have been the closest to her, had a unique Aether he had never seen as well. The blossoms and flower petals were embodying actual blossoming. He could use the concept of growth and life to multiply his attacks or transfer them from one to another almost like pollination.

But that was pitiful compared to this Touching Silk.

It embodied the veil of a bride, carrying with it all the blooming potential for the future, all the angst and fear of failure, all the allure and beauty of purity, and yet at the same time feeding on the desires of all those that wanted such a moment for themselves.

It was a concept that was hard to wrap your head around for the very fact that it wasn't just something that existed, but was a concept in the truest sense.

It was like these Aethers by their very design could be used in an infinite number of ways, like the "Will" of these Cryst Emperors came from the Aethers themselves.

No. Not exactly like that. They were allowing their Aethers to be manifested through their Wills, and then their Wills projected onto their Aethers until their energy itself became an extension of that.

Willborne Intelligence.

When done on a "normal" Aether like Sylas' Glassvolt or any other of the sort, this was already powerful. But when done with an Aether that wasn't just a mere element, but a concept that went beyond, it was like you were borrowing from the Will of the universe itself to strengthen yourself.

That was when it clicked for Sylas. When Four had looked like she was pulling the fabric of reality itself into her sword strike, she had been doing exactly that… borrowing from the world.

This wasn't an ability of her Touching Silk Aether, it was a byproduct of her level of Aether control.

And the only reason Sylas was able to break it so easily before was because she was focused on nothing more than levying the strongest strike she could in order to rip him to pieces and leave him in a smudge pattern on the ground.

She had abandoned the hidden truths of her Aether in order to do that.

Now, she had learned from that mistake, and she was coming for vengeance.

Blooming silvery blue Aether roaring like flame from afar and yet as silky smooth as rippling lake water the closer to her it got danced around Four.

The breath she exhaled came out in a smoky hue, and she took a step forward, her wounds and blood making her look little different from a warrior princess, her tails rippling with a different sort of majesty.

She raised her sword and subtle afterimages appeared in the air, one beautiful arc after another forming as the graceful silhouette of her body painted arcs of a gorgeous radiance.

Spikes of danger roared in Sylas' mind before Four even got close.

And then she suddenly was close.

He dodged to one side, but the blade still cut into his cheek, leaving a gash down to his bone. No, he could have dodged that, but it was like his body didn't want to move as fast as it could normally.

Four's placid gaze reflected his indifferent expression as though the shriek she erupted with earlier had drained her of all emotion.

This was where the real battle would begin.