Annabelle’s Bastion

Their orders were simple; set up camp. The way Jaxon ordered it, one would think they were about to do something impossible!

It did take a little white…but it was only slightly challenging to set up all the stuff he brought. Tents, cooking supplies, food, etc... They were pretty much set! Seeing him bring all of that from a small ring was quite the spectacle, to say the least. He got quite a few questions about it, which he surprisingly answered, although very briefly, without giving much away.

Anna felt a little smug that she had that ability, too! Soon.

Perhaps due to her being the only supporter or just because of the Storage Sigil, she had a relatively private tent on the outer edge of the camp. She threw her pack at the edge, where she had the Sigil buried beneath articles of clothing. The only other thing in the tent was her super-uncomfortable-looking sleeping bag.

She rejoined the group shortly after, gathering at the camp’s center around what would be a large firepit.

Their next task was to scout the forest for wandering beasts or noticeable signs of corruption—not to engage, just scout. A terrifying task, but one Jaxon insisted they had to do first.

It wasn’t just a few that had to do it, either. 

The forest, dubbed the Titan Forest, was so expansive that every student had to go out in pairs to search. Sometimes, the core zone can be erratic, so it might be difficult to find it. Jaxon informed them that, although smaller cores didn't have many stragglers, it wasn't uncommon to find some strays who left their zone.

Despite how it seemed, Anna didn’t doubt that Jaxon would be watching carefully to protect them.

However, she had the least to worry about. Anna’s task was even easier; she had to cast Hyper Enhancement on as many people as possible. 

With the way she intended to control it, that meant she could use it on everyone.

Which brought her to the front of camp, sitting on a chair with the entire expedition lined up before her.

“Ooh!” The burly, bald man exclaimed as he punched the air a few times, earning a smile from Anna. “This is support magic? I feel so fuckin’ good!”

“That’s placebo,” Anna warned, shaking her head and holding in her laughter. “You aren’t physically stronger, but your sense of pain is dulled, and your mana should flow a little faster.”

So he could activate his enhancements slightly faster and reasonably ignore debilitating pain—Anna’s carefully selected control of the Sigil’s options.

His reaction was actually the common one. Everyone thought they gained strength from Anna’s Sigil and reacted as such. It was an interesting phenomenon, and her dorm mates were the same. But this was the first time she only added a few buffs rather than the entire effect, so it was surprising the effect still happened.

“Pain dulled?” The man asked suspiciously. He didn’t hesitate and slapped himself right across the face, the sharp sound attracting a few hisses and a dumbfounded stare from Anna.

“You—” Anna stopped and chuckled. That was definitely a first!

“Damn, I really barely felt that.” The man rubbed his red cheek. “But why? I want to punch harder and run faster, not pussy out of pain.”

“Fucking idiot,” Jaxon suddenly said, looking at him like he was a bug. “Your pain tolerance will often be the difference between living or dying.”

Anna nodded. 

That was precisely why she focused on the pain nullification for the expedition. Her thought process was that it meant they could ignore the pain and flee back to camp. Barring crippling injuries, but even then, it should help some. Of course, should anything go horribly wrong. That, and she couldn’t possibly maximize the abilities without running out of mana.

While it came at the cost of lowering the other facets, it also meant she could cast it 59 times and still have mana left.

She didn’t sign up to be the expedition’s battery!

“Oh.” The bald man nodded. “I guess that makes sense, sir. Thanks, princess.” He sloppily saluted Anna and then left while pinching himself repeatedly and mumbling about bug bites.

“My pleasure,” Anna said as he walked off.

She was quite happy with the results of her experimenting; she could raise and lower the focus of her Sigil. Focusing on pain nullification made it cost far less since it didn’t touch anything other than alter natural bodily functions.

Having Jaxon behind her with his arms crossed and vicious glare pretty much made nobody stick around for conversation; even Ashton left after getting the Sigil applied. Of course, not before making a snide comment about how Jared might have performed better if he had the effect. Just to remind her, clearly, that he hadn’t forgotten.

Once the bald man left, Jaxon asked, “How is it?” 

“My mana?” Anna asked, and after receiving a curt nod, she checked. “I’m mostly out for the day.”

Aria was right about their body’s acclimation process; she didn’t feel nearly as exhausted as early as she did before—that was a lifesaver. She estimated she could drain around 70 percent before she felt the same level from Jared’s fight.

“Mostly.” Jaxon nodded. “Expected, but being able to give that to 59 people is impressive.”

“Thanks!”

“The minimum expected of an expedition supporter,” Jaxon immediately chided, then gestured toward her tent. “Now, get ready to absorb that Sigil while they’re out.”

Anna giggled. 

Whenever he complimented anyone, be it their attitudes or exceptional skills, it would probably always precede a douse of cold water. 

But Anna wasn’t about to refuse!

Still, she remembered. “What about my partner?”

“Know your limits, Frost,” Jaxon said as he left the tent. “He’ll join another group.”

A convenient misunderstanding.

“Yes!” Anna eagerly nodded.

Anna joined Jaxon at the center of camp, where everyone was gathered in unorganized groups and chatting about their mission. His presence was a silencing spell.

“You have your direction, and this is where my direct command will end,” Jaxon said, raising his voice. He didn’t wait for everyone to break from their conversations. “Head out with your partner, now. Return when Frost’s spell begins to wear off or when it gets dark. Whichever comes first. Do NOT fucking delay. I don’t fucking care how heroic you’re feeling—you will not be a damn hero here. There is no glory to be won.”

“Sir, will Annabelle stay?” Ashton asked. Despite his neutral tone, Anna could tell he liked that idea. “There will be an odd number.”

“She drained her mana for her ability, so she will stay, and her partner will join you—be thankful—and go.”

““Yes, sir!”“

Thus, the camp emptied while the teams spread out through the forest, the group of three heading center. It was a bit unorganized, as people clashed over directions. Eventually, though, they figured it out. 

Once the last of the groups hesitantly entered the forest, Jaxon left the camp after them. Despite how harsh he sounded, he wouldn’t let anything too bad happen to anybody—he clearly cared. He was the hard on the outside, soft on the inside type. Similar to Aria, actually.

It was nerve-wracking how fast things were going. Scout today, spend all the next hunting, then likely destroying the core on the third day. If everything went well, it could even end on the second day. 

Anna went to her tent and pulled the Sigil out of the bottom of her bag.

The increased gravity on the planet and the heavier air did not make it easy to get comfortable. 

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Anna mumbled, rolling the Sigil around her palm.

She had no hesitation about absorbing the Sigil despite her agreement with earning them. It was too good to reject. Spatial storage? That was too fantastic a power. Whoever wanted her to have it clearly knew what would make an irresistible gift. Since it had no elemental attunement, it should be far better in her hands. She probably wouldn’t ever need to focus on it.

Yet still, she continued rolling it around her palm—her hesitation came from why she had it.

If someone wanted to gift her something, the Storage Sigil would probably be the most inconspicuous. Maybe it was an extra one that they didn’t need. The mysterious sender may have it, pretended they didn’t, and gave the Sigil away under the guise of absorbing it.

Surely, there wasn’t any meaning behind the ability itself. After all, it offered no benefit for the expedition… unless they knew of her plan to get Aria a sigil, a task made infinitely easier.

She saw Jaxon use it to store Sigils, so that was probably it.

“Store Sigils…” Anna muttered.

Maybe Alisha gave it to her so she could bring back a Sigil for Aria? But if that were the case, Jaxon would probably have just told her.

Regardless, she wasn’t going to toss it away now.

Anna extended her black ring over the Sigil.

The familiar sensation of the air vibrating around her arm, the low hum of the Sigil as it floated above her palm—it was the same as the Hyper Enhancement, but a bit rougher, louder, and with more pressure.

Soon after, it broke like falling sand in an hourglass toward her palm.

Anna lay down, ready to deal with the incessant buzzing and unpleasant mana movement as the Sigil absorbed.

Well, that was how it should have been.

She blacked out.

---

Jaxon shook his head, his steely gaze directed at the lone tent Frost had at the furthest edge of the camp. 

Frost was out cold—naturally. While the storage Sigil seemed simple in name and ability, the power it granted was anything but. It created a separate spatial pocket. That was as close to a god-like power as Frost could get, and it wouldn’t be absorbed so easily.  

Barring complications, she should be out until morning.

Once sure she wasn’t waking and that the absorption was going well, he directed his gaze back to the forest, detecting the life of 59 students spread out in a sloppy fan formation.

He didn’t like what he saw and had to frequently remind himself that these were earthling humans.

They weren’t organized, their searching was terrible, and they paced themselves horribly. One idiotic man injured himself attempting to climb a tree. Nothing grave, so he should suffer through it. Further behind, another duo progressed at a snail’s pace. 

He didn’t ask them to admire the plant life.

The group of three fared better, checking everything around them, high or low. Not staying on one thing too long and not stopping their advance. Ashton Wells, Cole Anderson, and Theo Walsh. Those three were ahead of the other students and were thorough in their investigations. While each was satisfactory—for Earthlings—the man, Cole, was the clear top student in this playground.

Jaxon stopped focusing on one group, instead broadening his senses to all.

Surprisingly, Frost’s Hyper Enhancement didn’t seem to be running out quickly. 

That was owed to her mana.

While her purity wasn’t unheard of, Alisha informed him it was beyond even what they knew of.

It was Jaxon’s first time seeing it regardless, albeit at a low level. Those who had purity never participated in frontline battles. They were too valuable.

Frost would become an invaluable member of Bastion just by virtue of her supporting power. As for why she was really valued...

He directed his senses back to the tent, only to freeze at what he felt.

A bronze ring extended around his forehead, and his body flooded with power. 

In an instant, he arrived at the tent and ripped it open.

The sight within only stunned him further.

Frost was there, standing and investigating her body like it was foreign to her. There weren’t any signs of the Sigil’s absorption, nor was her mana any different than usual.

That wasn’t Frost.

“Who the fuck are you?” Jaxon asked, his voice low and commanding.

If it were anybody else, they’d see a woman with an emotionless face and green eyes of icy steel. Gone was her usual childish nature that made her annoying to deal with, replaced by an almost commanding aura.

Those green eyes met his and seemed entirely unfazed by his power. Rather, it felt like his strength meant nothing to her.

“Is the norm amongst your kind to barge in on a lady’s room?” She lightly shook her head disappointedly. “A feeble amount of strength tends to make your decorum disappear.”

“Answer my fucking question,” he said as a bronze ring extended from his wrist. “I will kill you, value be damned.”

There was only one thing he could think of that would cause what he was seeing; he should be killing her instantly, no questions asked.

However, it felt... different than what he was used to.

And the heaviest chain was that she was Alisha’s toy—killing her was not as easy a decision as it would have been anyone else.

“That wouldn’t be ideal,” Frost said as his threat wasn’t toward her, then glanced at his rings. “Yet you do have the power, unfortunately—I am weak.”

“Speak,” Jaxon ordered. It took everything he had to resist the overwhelming urge to pierce her chest.

“Do not presume your strength grants you sway over me, brute.” Frost looked around the small tent, still uncaring of the threat before her. She then lightly sighed. “No seats? I’d rather not sit on the ground.”

“Last fucking warning,” Jaxon took a step forward.

“If you had approached me with grace—” She stopped and lightly shook her head. “Ordinarily, of course.” Frost’s cold eyes met his, and despite the difference in height, he felt she was on his level. “Yet I’ve no choice but to answer you, as you present the only authority available to me in this land.” She then scoffed. “If only we were closer to the beast.”

Beast?

Jaxon detected no such thing anywhere on the continent.

Frost kept staring at him as if coming to terms with her option, considering the words she should use.

That gaze was different than Alisha’s, different than the Bastion commanders, and different than the council themselves. 

It was a gaze that demanded absolute authority. If Jaxon didn’t know better, he’d assume he was speaking with a queen—not a woman who wanted to be one, but one who was.

But he was the last person who could be affected by it.

“I warned—”

“Well,” Frost interrupted, her hand raised as if to command him to be silent. “Manners aside, your power is… somewhat impressive for your kind. I suppose there are worse options available to me.” With those words, she glanced toward the direction of the expedition scouts.

Why didn’t he just kill her? He hated dealing with people who talked more than they punched.

Yet something else within him told him that he had to listen to what she had to say.

“Fine.” Jaxon dismissed his rings and crossed his arms. She couldn’t harm him, and Alisha would have wanted him to listen.

And he could obtain a clue as to Alisha’s focus on her.

“Much better,” Frost said, nodding approvingly. “You aren’t entirely lost.”

“Spit it out, Frost.”

“Patience is a valuable skill you’d do well to acquire.” Frost slowly sat on her sleeping bag, crossing her legs and closing her eyes. “My presence wasn’t entirely predictable, but my... alter ego, I suppose... she absorbed quite the spell.”

“Alter ego?”

Could it be just split personality? Bastion had a mage like that, and she was a force to be reckoned with. One ego prioritized support, and the other focused on combat. Her purity was high but not near Frost’s level.

Her eyes didn’t open, but it still felt as though she was looking at him. “Yes, contrary to the belief floating around your head—she is me, and I am her.”

“What are you?”

“I just answered, simpleton; I am Annabelle Frost.” Frost raised her hand to stop any interruption. “To ask me why I am? Perhaps I could ask you the same. There is no acceptable answer to assuage your silly fears, is there?”

Jaxon squinted. “You’re telling me you don’t know what you are?” He scoffed and shook his head. “Bullshit.”

Frost sighed. “Persuading you exists low on my priorities.”

“If you don’t persuade me, you will die.”

“No, I won’t.” Frost emotionlessly chuckled. “Fortunately for you, I do not wish to be out here. Yet, it can be viewed as fortunate for my alter ego—me—that I am.” She looked into Jaxon’s eyes in a different way than before, not past him, but at him. “Heed my word, human; this planet is far more important than you imagined. I suspect that is why I am here, despite my other self’s weakness.” She coldly snickered. “The redundant poison you people gave me when I arrived almost leads me to suspect this has been planned from the beginning.” She shook her head lightly. “Doesn’t matter, it was a boon. The core will be a simple task. You must allow me to destroy it so that I will receive the... Sigil, as you call it.”

“What the fuck is any of that supposed to mean?”

They knew the planet was irregular, but how the hell did Frost know? She spoke like she knew what the core was and how it would fight. Whereas, all Bastion could do, even with the best of them, was say there was a chance it would become something more.

“The reason for my desire will be here momentarily." For the first time, she smiled, looking beyond Jaxon. "I quite like that girl, as does my other self.” Frost closed her eyes. “As for you? Work on your barbarism, and I might be convinced to offer more the next we speak.”

“What are—”

Yet, Frost fell to the ground, light breaths indicating she returned to a peaceful slumber.

“You motherfucking—”

But before he could investigate her fallen body, he felt another presence. Suddenly, Frost’s last words made sense.

A flash of gold appeared in the corner of his vision at the edge of the camp.

He was tempted to rip the interloper’s heart out. He could, right? She so clearly disobeyed the rules Bastion held sacred. The rules he held sacred.

But Alisha...

Jaxon groaned and dismissed the ring around his wrist. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?”