by Kyle West
And of course, time is perhaps the worst enemy.
Then, as we reached the top of yet another pile of rubble beneath a star-filled sky, I saw it.
Across the devastation, past a final line of broken buildings, was a tower far larger than the others...still distant behind a rise across a bleak plain, but still visible against the backdrop of stars.
“That’s it,” I said. “It has to be.”
“Just as you said,” Isa stated.
“You prophesy...often?” Shara asked.
“It’s an uncommon Gift,” I said. “But yes. It happens.”
We continued our trek across the city ruins. Despite how late it was, how far we had traveled, how little we had eaten, and everything we had been through...I felt strangely energized. I noticed everyone else seemed the same way, walking as if we hadn’t been traveling nonstop for days on end. We worked our way methodically across the rubble, and it took the better part of the night before we were past all the buildings. I looked back at the city, hardly believing we had gone through it all without a break.
And still, we continued on, not stopping until the sun crested the eastern horizon, a line of mountains far in the distance that could be nothing but the rim of the Crater itself. Even in this desolate place, there was beauty. The golden rays shone across the pink trees, just as the forest ended along the craggy plains.
As we kept walking, the tower grew all the larger in our vision. It had to be taller than even Haventree. Whatever it was made of, it glowed like burnished bronze under the sun, even as the surrounding landscape radiated with pink luminescence. A ring, defying gravity, was suspended in the air encircling its top.
It did not seem like something humans could build.
“What was it for?” Isa asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I just know it’s where we’ll find this Orb. Shal said it was at the very top.”
“Of course,” Isaru said. “Where else would it be? It will take an hour or more to climb this thing.”
“An hour goes by quickly,” Shara said. “We’re nearly there.”
I realized Shara was right. And now that we were close, and I could very well have the Prophecy in my hands in hours, even in the form of a memory...it was time to be more careful. Shara wouldn’t be able to kill me, but that didn’t mean Isaru and Isa were safe.
I didn’t know what he wanted with the Prophecy, and I didn’t know what he believed it would give him. The Covenant and the Elekai believed vastly different things about what it contained, so if it ended up being something he didn’t expect, he might end up rejecting it.
Then again, perhaps he had an idea of what it was, and he just needed to know the details. Maybe he knew it was what no one expected.
Whatever the case, we would all be finding out soon.
CHAPTER FIFTY
AT LONG LAST, WE WERE over a final ridge and standing at the base of a rounded staircase leading up to the tower’s arched, open entrance. Every part of it was of ichorstone that was coppery in hue while still having a pearlescent sheen, only enhanced by the light of the rising sun.
The stairs themselves led quite high, and we wasted no time in getting started. A few minutes later, we were standing before the tower’s cavernous entrance. We paused only a moment before walking inside.
The interior of the tower was almost completely hollow. In its middle was a pedestal, the purpose of which I couldn’t begin to guess, that made a perfect circle and reached as high as my waist. A staircase circled around the outer wall, following it until it reached the very top. I lost count on the amount of times the steps went around and around, and the very highest stairs were lost to view. It was dizzying to even look at.
“This is the strangest place I’ve ever seen,” Isa said, her voice echoing in the cavernous space.
“I don’t see how these thin walls can support a tower this size,” Isaru said. “It should be impossible.”
“We’ve seen many things that should be impossible,” Shara said. “But that’s neither here nor there.”
So, we started up the steps. Even though we had walked all day and all night, I still wasn’t fatigued, and never found myself short of breath going up the stairs. The floor below fell away, little by little. There was no railing on the side, but the steps were wide enough that there wasn’t any danger in falling.
As we climbed, I could see that the tower wasn’t as unbroken as previously thought. Some of the steps had been chipped, and others even had cracks in them. We passed an opening in the wall that appeared to have been blasted from some sort of impact, giving a view of the vast, broken city in the distance, basking in the golden light of dawn.
Some half hour later, we stopped, arriving at a final archway leading into a final room, at the center of which was a pedestal identical to the one on the bottom floor, only without the hole. The walls here were almost completely broken, to the point where it was hard to tell whether we were inside or outside, while a cold wind blew across the expanse.
On the pedestal was the glowing, pink Orb, just as Shal had said.
It shone bright, and despite the size of the room, was able to cast the broken walls in bright hues. It was almost too bright to look at directly. We gazed in awe for a moment, and I was the first to step forward, entering a bright pool of light radiating outward.
Touching that Orb would send my mind to the Hyperfold.
“Shanti...” Isa said. “I won’t try to stop you. Just...be careful.”
I nodded. I couldn’t bring myself to speak, because I felt there was nothing to say. We all knew what I had to do.
Still, I found myself waiting. I just wanted a minute more with my friends. Even Shara, strangely enough.
“It is made from Aether,” Shara said, looking at the Orb. “Only in a solid form.” She took a few steps closer, examining it, but taking care not to touch it. “I didn’t know such a thing was possible.”
When I looked at her blue eyes, they were bright and glowing. She looked at the Orb the way a starving person looked at a feast. Could she feel something the rest of us couldn’t?
“Shara?”
She blinked, and the trance was broken. “There is great power in that Orb,” she said. “It’s like ten doses of Aether in one.”
Ten doses of Aether, if Shara was right, would be lethal to anyone. Anyone, but me, if it was true that Anna would be immune to its effects. Something I was not even completely sure of.
For all I knew, I would die as soon as I touched it.
“There’s no other choice,” I said. “People have used this thing before, however long ago.”
I turned to look at Isaru and Isa. Both were watching me, worried, but otherwise powerless to keep me from doing what I needed to. Even if they could have come with no danger to losing a part of themselves, I would have done everything I could to convince them not to.
“Be careful,” Isaru said, fighting to keep his voice steady. “If you ever feel in danger...find a way out. We’ll figure out the rest.”
I nodded. It was unsettling to see him so nervous. He looked as if he wanted to stop me, but couldn’t. Usually, he had been in the thick of danger with me, but this time, he couldn’t be a part of it.
There were unshed tears in Isa’s eyes as she came to hug me. “We’ll be here, waiting. Isaru is right. If you’re being tricked, find a way out. Shal said you were a link, so perhaps you don’t even need him to escape, if it comes down to that.”
Maybe so. I pulled away, because any more of this then I was going to start crying, too. I turned around, where Shara was still standing, only instead of the Orb, she was now looking at me, her blue eyes weighing and calculating.
It was time. As I approached the Orb, its glow intensified. I shielded my eyes and felt completely swallowed by light.
But, there was sudden movement.
“What...?”
Shara cut in front of me, reaching for the Orb and grabbing hold. Before I could even respond, a giant
shockwave radiated out from the Orb, sending me reeling backward and crashing to the floor. I scrambled up only to find that Shara had remained standing, an aura of light surrounding her features, with the shining Orb held in an outstretched hand.
And then, she fell to the floor, as if struck. The Orb landed on the floor and rolled away, toward a gap in the wall where it would fall hundreds of feet to the ground below.
Even as I ran to Shara, Isaru went for the Orb before it could fall. He dove, managing to grab it. Another shockwave shot outward as soon as his skin made contact, blasting him through the air even as the Orb slipped from his hand and rolled toward me.
Isa screamed and ran to Isaru as he crashed, even as I stood, completely shocked. As if mocking me, the Orb lightly touched my boot, then went still. I ran toward Isa, who was crying and shaking Isaru, whose eyes were closed, and his silver hair fanned out on the floor.
My hands shaking, I knelt down and felt for a pulse. It was slow, but it was there.
“He’s alive,” I said.
“He should have let it fall,” Isa said, through her tears. “I knew it was dangerous. I knew it.”
Isaru probably didn’t have the time to use his cloak to grab it.
“He’s not going to die, Isa,” I said. “He’s in the Hyperfold, just like Shara is.”
She looked at me, and it was clear that through her emotions, that hadn’t connected with her. “He’s in there?”
I nodded. “They both are. Isaru...is strong. He might escape unscathed. As for Shara...”
“Who cares about her?” Isa said bitterly. “She’s ruined everything!”
I grabbed her face, forcing her to look me. “Isa, look into my eyes. He is not going to die. He is not. I’m going after him, and I need you to stand watch here while I do. Can you do that?”
“But...”
“I need you to be strong and do this. I don’t know what’s going to happen up here, but you’re going to be by yourself while the three of us are as good as knocked out. Whatever happens, you have to make sure we’re safe. If I do this, and neither of us are awake after a day’s time...”
“Don’t say that,” Isa said, the tears coming again. “Don’t say you’re not going to wake up. The last time you made a promise, you didn’t come back.”
“I don’t know what waits for me once I touch that Orb...but it’s not going to be death. I’m going to find Isaru, and yes, I’m going to find Shara, too. Even if she did cause all this...”
Isa nodded, finally seeming to accept that. “I’ll stay here. Nothing will happen to you, or Isaru, while you’re gone.”
I noticed she left out Shara, but there was no reason to point out the fact.
I looked behind to see the Orb exactly where I had left it.
I walked over and knelt down, knowing that I was probably going to get knocked out, anyway, from touching it. Knowing that would make reaching for it all the more difficult.
I looked at Isa one last time. She was still kneeling beside Isaru.
“I won’t be long,” I said. “And if I am...”
“Do what you must,” Isa said. “I’ll guard you with my life. For what that’s worth.”
“It’s worth far more than you know.”
I turned back around. There was no point in waiting. I closed my eyes, and reached out to touch the Orb.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
I OPENED MY EYES TO find myself in a forest. I recognized it as the forest just outside of Hyperborea, only now, it was different. The plants and trees were more colorful, and the forest floor wasn’t so overgrown. There was nothing dead or dying; everything was thriving and well cared for. The sky above was the purest of blues, while a small stream trickled downslope nearby.
But most of all, I could hear the sounds of life. The chatter of squirrels, the singing of birds, the buzzing of a nearby dragonfly.
This wasn’t the forest as it existed today, but as it had been over a century ago, at Hyperborea’s height. It looked exactly like the forest of my dreams. It was as if I had stepped backward in time, only this was the Hyperfold.
Even if this place wasn’t reality, it looked and felt as if it were. Still, I couldn’t help but make sure it actually felt as real as it looked. I walked toward a tall Silverwood, reaching to touch its shining bark. Everything about it felt real under my hand. There was a hint of moisture in the air, laden with the earthy aroma of soil joined with the sweet scent of the xen. I could see why Mia had so loved these woods. There was a sense of peace and contentment here that was beyond words.
I had to snap myself out of it. I was here for a reason, and that reason was to find Isaru and Shara. After that, I needed to find Shal.
He had said the Orb would travel with me, but so far, there wasn’t any sign of it. I searched the glade, and it wasn’t long before a shining pink light caught my eye, not far into the trees. It was the spot from which I had originally come; I just hadn’t noticed the Orb there, because I was so transfixed by the forest.
It was small enough to fit in my hand, but obviously, I couldn’t just carry it around. I was afraid of actually touching it, because doing so might just send me back to the Tower in the real world for all I knew. Shal had implied that he would help me return, so touching it would probably have no effect. In the end, I reached down to pick it up. Nothing happened.
It was just small enough to fit inside my robe, in one of the inner pockets. It was a little bulky protruding from my side, but at least I could carry it somewhere out of sight.
I was also surprised to find that my katana was still with me. I wasn’t sure how things worked in the Hyperfold, but it appeared that everything I had been wearing in the real world had also manifested here.
So, I carried it like that. I started forward through the trees, not really sure of my direction. If Isaru and Shara were here, there was no telling where they actually were. I wondered whether they had their own Orbs, or whether the Orb only traveled when I touched it. And that begged the question of whether they were actually here in the first place, or merely unconscious in the real world. There were a lot of questions I really didn’t have an answer to.
The only thing I could think of was trying to find the city. It couldn’t be far.
Before long, I came along a path following the stream. The scene was familiar, and it took me a moment to realize that this was the same path Isandru and Mia had followed on their way back to the city during my first dream. It meant I was going the right direction.
Given that Isaru and Shara actually were here, they probably would have gone toward the city, as I was doing. The only logical option was that they would have waited for me to come, and the fact that they didn’t was troubling.
Maybe they aren’t here after all.
Before long, the trees broke, revealing the city before me. Unlike the real world, this version of Hyperborea was exactly as it had been in my dreams. Its towers were tall and countless, and the bridges leading toward it gleamed white in the sun, and were fully intact. I could even see people walking along them. A lake of ichor stretched along the city’s side, separating it from the xen-filled slope leading down toward the city. Lake Makar, if I remembered right. It had to be named after Makara, one of the heroes of the Ragnarok War. Even if her name was largely forgotten in the present, it seemed the Hyperboreans remembered her enough to name it after her...even if the name people remember had dropped the final letter.
I stood still, taking in the scene, and was haunted by an unforeseen doubt: what if this was real? What if, somehow, some way, I had actually stepped into the past in truth? The Xenofold worked in strange ways, and some said that it had a way of working outside time itself. What if the Hyperfold was similar?
I couldn’t let myself get bogged down by such questions. I had a job to do. Shal said that, once I gave him the Orb, he would give me the Prophecy. Only then could I return to the real world – or the present world, whichever it turned out to be.
I ran toward the c
ity. It didn’t take long for me to close the distance between the forest and the city. Unlike Mia and Isandru, I had no boat to go across the lake, so I was forced to go around. I didn’t have the first idea where to even begin searching for them. I began to pass people, and it seemed a little hopeless to stop every person and give a description and hope for the best.
This idea seemed even more pointless when I realized just how many people there were in this city. I found myself entering in between the buildings, just one of thousands in the throng. Even so, I felt completely out of place because my clothes were different from theirs, and I seemed to be the only one with any sort of weapon. I got more than a few looks, but I hurried along in case anyone had a mind to stop me.
The hum of this living, breathing city was almost surreal after passing through the deadened one not hours before, but seeing all the faces was even more surreal. Faces laughing, smiling, people haggling with vendors. People were living their lives, and it was hard to believe, that if this was indeed the Hyperfold, that each of those people was someone who was trapped here and didn’t realize it. They seemed completely oblivious to the fact.
As I made a turn, I could see, high above, a large building that seemed to be supported by several towers. Several moving platforms went up and down, allowing access to higher tiers. I waited for one such platform to come down, joining it with an older man dressed in a light brown robe, along with a couple of children who were arguing over some candy. As the platform went up, the surreal feeling only grew. How could a place look and feel so real, yet not be?
I soon found myself on the highest of the streets, held up by impossibly thin supports, giving the illusion that the street was floating. I was a bit nervous walking out on it, but there were hundreds of people on this road, supported by nothing more than what pretty much amounted to strings. It had to be safe, even if it didn’t feel like it.
My attention was immediately drawn by what had to be the Cloud Palace. It looked the same as it had in my dreams, filled with hundreds of large windows, turrets, and flying buttresses, all gleaming in the sunlight. Its outer walls seemed to be a strange cross between stone and wood, as if the entire thing had been grown from the ground. It was a structure that looked too impossible to exist.