Crystalise: The Exaltation System: ASCENDANT F.R. Brooks (the snowy day read aloud .TXT) 📖

Exalt Class: DPS

Rank 8, LV.89

Innate Element: Fire

Birthdate: Y545-11-21 (age 29)

Height: 178cm

Weight: 76kg

Laterality: Right

Years Active: Y556 - Present

Combat Points:

Elemental: Close-range, direct fire DPS.

Non-elemental: Grappling & submission holds, ground fighting.

Misc. Notes:

Association with “Aviere” organization (a cult?)

Outspoken obsession with Chevalier Serena Lucienne.

“This Eighth Pillar guy,” Nym said, “he’s a little weird.”

“A little is an understatement. Laurent’s been under public scrutiny for a few years,” Liam said.

“It’s odd to me, though… you would think that Chrysid would be choosier about who they permit to become Pillars. Cross-referencing through past Pillars and even some Chevaliers, it seems like a real mix of people with squeaky-clean records and outright criminals.”

“It’s not about records or behavior. All Chrysid cares about is who can punch their way to the top and hold that place the longest…”

“Don’t they worry about their public figures going rogue?”

“I’m sure they have their ways of keeping their pawns under control. Either that or maybe the glory of being a Pillar is payment enough for a façade of obedience. Besides, Laurent’s exactly where he wants to be.”

“You’re telling me. Poor Miss Chevalier… having this guy right next door. You should see some of the dirt I’ve dug up on Laurent.”

“Between his obsession with the Chevalier and the cult stuff, I don’t think there’s anything wild about him that I haven’t heard.”

“Did you hear about the cannibalism thing?”

“The… the fucking what now?”

Liam didn’t care to hear any elaboration—he swiped the AR screens away and exhaled.

The sooner this battle was over with, the better.

04 | High Altitude

Liam scrolled through the display list and scoured the maps of their previous location.

“Have you managed to find Laurent?”

“I’m still not seeing him anywhere,” Liam answered, poring over Nym’s scans of their surroundings. “He’s not on the enemy target list or the maps. I’m concerned that I may have screwed us over with that last bomb.”

“How?”

“There’s a chance that I might not have killed him. I might have just knocked his trackers offline,” Liam explained. “I haven’t gotten notifications indicating the end of the match, either.”

“Laurent could be dead, though. Judges probably just haven’t called it yet.”

Liam’s brow knit as he activated a holographic map projection over his arm. The map duplicated what he saw within his visor’s UI as he illustrated his point to James.

“I don’t think he’s dead yet. Feels too easy… I’m almost tempted to say we should go back and make sure. He could be hiding out in any of these points on the map—”

James groaned. “Screw that, I’m not back-tracking.”

“He could just be hiding out somewhere and letting his suit regen.”

“Regen…? His suit had a regen mod?”

Liam nodded. “Nym was able to catch a quick scan before our fight started. That could be why he wasn’t very conservative about his batteries. He went through at least four during that fight, as far as I counted.”

“Yeah… I saw him go through a couple.”

“Right. We don’t know if he’s gone through all five.”

“We also don’t know if he’s even alive,” James countered.

“I’m simply saying that we shouldn’t be surprised if we cross this bridge and find the exalt’s gateway into that tower locked. The system won’t let us progress until we defeat the Eighth Pillar—whether by death or concession. You know Laurent won’t concede, either.”

James crossed his arms over his chest.

“Alright, well… I vote we just keep going, see if we come to a wall and if nothing changes, then we think about going back for him. You got any more of those alkali bombs, Professor?”

“I’m up to about 20% LCR,” Liam answered. “That’s 40% until I can make another alkali bomb. Hell, it’ll be at least a twenty-minute recharge until I can pull a useful quantity of potassium.”

“Damn. Seriously? Can’t you just hurl a chunk of iron at his face and call it a day?”

“I could, but iron melts. Between my metal and your ice, we’re at a slight disadvantage.”

“Damn it…” James hissed. “Well, what else do you have?”

“All I’ve got right now is a little iron, aluminum and sodium. My LCR’s too low to convert to anything with a higher melting point. Or to create large enough quantities for another bomb.”

“What about that one stuff… the, uh… thermal, therm…? Y’know, with my ice and his fire?”

“Thermite? We’re on a bridge.”

“Yeah, and…?”

“That’ll kill the three of us, James.”

James lulled his head back with a dramatic groan.

“Screw this, I wanna fight…”

Liam continued to scroll through the data on the holographic AR display. “Take a breather. Build a snowman or something. Fight the snowman.”

James grumbled as he conjured a pillar of jagged, crystalline ice. Liam flinched back and away as his brother kicked and shattered it.

As the ice around them grew, the oxygen levels noted by Liam’s UI ticked up ever so slightly.

All that ice is actually affecting the vicinity’s oxygen levels… cool.

Wait…

“James, wait, stop. Chill.” Liam eyed the atmospheric conditions report in his UI.

“What?” James asked.

“I’m thinking… being all the way up here, we might have environmental factors in our favor.”

“Explain?”

“We’re not indoors anymore. Out here, the oxygen’s at 31%—life support systems are all centered down in the city. That could be why he’s not coming after us if he’s still alive.”

“He’s at a disadvantage…”

“Exactly. He’d have to burn through more lucidium to keep up his usual temperatures. His fire’s weakened up here.”

Liam trailed off when he glimpsed tiny shadows moving out of the corner of his eye.

A pair of vespid drones buzzed overhead. Liam’s nerves tensed. He had developed a reflexive bad feeling whenever more than one drone hovered around them.

Two drones meant more than one recorded and broadcast angle. On the broadcast, commentators were hyping something that viewers knew and they did not.

Any time Liam saw three drones, he knew that combat was mere moments away. Sure enough, a third drone emerged from the clouds and hovered toward them.

Liam looked back to the Cathedral of the Eighth Pillar.

At the heart of a growing plume of flames stood the fire exalt, Julian Laurent.

“Great,” Liam sighed. “I should’ve figured this