[Lifespan Remaining: 16 days, 8 hours, 58 minutes.]
Never in his life did Noct hear someone say something so sincere to him.
"Alright, what are the conditions?"
Sylph raised two fingers. "First, assimilation requires a part of your body for me to inhabit. It has to be given willingly and permanently. Once it becomes my sanctuary, it will belong to both of us."
sanctuary, it will belong to both of us."
"Can it be anything?"
"Any complete part capable of containing my power. An eye, a hand, a lung...Even your heart, if you’re willing to risk it," she explained. "The more important the organ, the more power I’ll be able to use."
Noct stared at Faust, who was just outside the dome of violent wind. Specifically, Noct stared at his unnatural-looking eye.
"Does that mean Faust made the same assimilation contract?"
Sylph shook her head. "No, it’s likely that Leviathan took control over his body and was just using his eye as a sanctuary to perceive the mortal world and command him through it."
"It is a Possession Contract."
CRACK—!
A fracture opened above them, allowing a narrow stream of water to pour through.
"Whoa—!"
Sylph hurriedly raised both hands and forced the currents back together. The opening closed, but her tiny body became almost transparent from the effort.
"What’s the second condition?!" Noct hurried.
"Assimilation requires an offering of equivalent importance," she said, her voice strained and hoarse. "You must surrender the possession you value above everything else."
"My most valuable possession?"
"Not valuable," Sylph corrected. "Precious. The contract doesn’t care about how much something is worth to anyone else. It will only accept what you are most afraid to lose."
Noct’s thoughts immediately passed over the contents of his sling bag. His spellbooks could be replaced, and the mana crystals inside could be found again. Money and status meant little if he wasn’t alive to enjoy them as well.
Nothing came to mind, except—
Noct looked toward the blue panel by his side.
[Lifespan Remaining: 16 days, 8 hours, 55 minutes.]
"...My lifespan."
The gears started to turn in his head as soon as she mentioned the fact. It was probably the same deal as the first condition, where the more he sacrificed, the stronger the power would be.
Noct wasn’t sure how strong Faust was, but at this point, Noct knew that he would need as much as he could get in order to defeat him.
That was when a realization suddenly occurred. There was no better way to obtain lifeforce than in this mana crystal cave.
So it was all or nothing.
"I’ll do it."
Sylph’s eyes widened at the mention, but agreed with the decision regardless. Though just before she commenced the ritual, Noct held her back.
"Before that, I need you to do something," he whispered softly. "I’ll distract Faust. While that happens, please go above and collect every mana crystal you see and feed it directly to the largest crystal at the center."
"No!" Sylph shook her head feverishly. "It’s too dangerous!"
"It’s alright," Noct assured her. "I have a way."
Reluctantly, the small spirit nodded. "Alright...once I’m far enough, you’ll have about a minute before the dome breaks."
"Got it."
Through a hole in the back of the wind dome, she disappeared down the path they had just come from.
"Now let’s see...got to have some kind of insurance."
Noct pulled out the ?Compendium of Two-Star Magic? from his sling bag. The pages were completely wet, however its contents were completely fine—probably because of magical ink.
He flipped through the pages hurriedly before his eyes stopped on a single spell called Lightning Agility.
It essentially used electric signals to boost the body’s physical capabilities, allowing the user to move quickly and think faster on the fly. It also coated the user’s skin in a mild electric shock, which was perfect for stalling out Faust.
With a single glance through the pages, Noct learned the spell.
[Lightning Agility added to Known Spells]
He raised his hand, chanting the incantation that would hopefully be the one to save his life. Because there was nothing else he could count on.
"O lightning, fill my body with relentless energy and allow me to escape even the gods."
?Magia Volt — Blitz Tempo?
[Lifespan Remaining: 15 days, 7 hours, 35 minutes.]
Combined with the fact that Noct was already injured, a draining of three days did a number on him. Still, his body was burning with adrenaline. His thinking felt faster and clearer, while his muscles felt like they could run a whole marathon without ever getting tired.
And with a deep breath, he counted the time.
"Three...two...one..."
"Time’s up."
As soon as the dome dispersed back into gentle winds, dozens of water spears flew towards Noct’s direction immediately.
"Out of your shell, are we?!" Faust remarked.
Yet with Noct’s enhanced speed and dynamic vision, he accurately predicted the trajectory of the attack. And instead of dodging like his brother initially thought...
Noct ran straight at him.
Weaving through the water spears, every single step he took caused him immense pain. But it didn’t matter.
Faust, who clearly wasn’t expecting the retaliation, took a step back. But it was already too late.
Noct got close to his guard before delivering a punch straight into his jaw. The attack was faster than his armor could react, and his punch connected.
Though being weakened and injured, Noct’s punch did nothing but annoy him. And well, annoyed Faust was, not expecting what he considered a fly to be able to cause him such pain.
"You imbecile!" He shouted in anger. "How dare you—You really think you can fight back against me?!"
"For all that talk about power, brother. You still seem pretty weak."
"GARGHHH—!"
Faust, blind in his rage, unleashed a barrage of attacks. Water tendrils suddenly erupted from the cavern floor, slamming into where Noct was standing.
’Now’s my chance. Faust can’t think straight...he’s sure to follow me."
Exactly according to plan, Noct turned tail and booked it the other way. With a single jump, he made it back to the ledge that led to the cavern below the lake before turning around with another taunt.
"If you’re not quick enough, I’ll go tell Father and Vivienne about how much of a sore loser you are."
"Noct, YOU ABSOLUTE WASTE OF—"
Naturally, Noct didn’t stick around to hear the rest of his insult. He ran as much as his legs could carry him...and they were starting to become heavy.
With his damaged mana circulation, he could only sustain the spell for about a minute or two before it fizzled out. By the time he reached the underside of the lake once more, [Lightning Agility] was already gone.
And just like Noct suspected, from the cavern he just came from, noises of destruction echoed loudly as Faust chased after him, definitely without any elegance in mind.
He looked back up toward the lake, scared that he might get stuck in it again like last time. But he couldn’t contemplate it further, as Faust burst through the cavern entrance, causing stone and debris to fly everywhere.
He took a deep breath, calming himself.
"It’s now or never."
...And jumped into the upside-down lake.