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The update continued for a while longer. There was much to go over, and Ettol doubted that he would get around to everything, but it was still worth a try. He would have started even earlier, but this invigorating period wasn't likely to last for more than a few hours.

But then again... Hmm. Perhaps if he could establish a large enough domain around himself, Nerovoy's condition might remain stable for longer. He didn't know if he was yet strong enough to maintain such a technique, nor did have any recent practice with it, but he supposed it was at least worth a shot.

It would be a problem if the meeting dragged on--which was quite likely to happen, considering how many years of catching up there was to be done.

Yes.

He decided to give it a try, pulling on the Windlight again. Not making a demand. Asking gently for its assistance.

It responded eagerly, and he merged it with the force of his mind to establish an aerial bubble around himself. That was the first step. Next was to focus on its outer layer--a kind of psychic film--so that he could empower it with his soul.

And finally, he needed to let the Windlight fill in the rest of the space. An invisible balloon, of sorts, growing to be about as large as the room itself. As long as Nerovoy stayed within it, the reaper would theoretically stop regressing.

But it was still primitive. Others might be able to sense its presence when they passed through it. Adding an aspect of stealth to it was probably still beyond him, at this point. Making such an attempt would be a needless risk to its structural integrity when he could instead merely tell the others that he was practicing a new technique.

And that wouldn't even be a lie.

Perfect.

Now he just had to get comfortable and finish waiting.

At length, however, he was beginning to grow impatient. Those two jackasses were certainly taking their sweet time, weren't they? Eyeing his watch, he realized that it was nearly the agreed upon hour.

Why did they never bother to arrive even a little bit early? One would think that they would have eventually learned from his example after all these years.

But then again, he supposed their predictability was also a big part of what he liked about them. It certainly made his life--

A disturbance in his domain.

Germal looked around but didn't see anyone other than Nerovoy.