The Beginning After The End 08

by Turtle Me

  Still unsure, I placed my hand on the surface of the ice and pushed down with enough force to make sure it could also hold my weight.

  “Are you seriously questioning the integrity of my spell right now?” Daria threw back her mage robe, letting the luxurious cloth slide down her exposed back to reveal a series of tattoos. “I have four crests and two emblems, you jerk!”

  I climbed onto the panel of ice, turning my back to her. “We’ve wasted a lot of time. Let’s move.”

  One by one, the other six ascenders boarded the large sled until we were all squeezed together and nervously holding onto the railings as we waited for the sled to crack in half beneath our feet.

  I was skeptical that Daria would be able to get the sled moving, but with an updraft taking some of the weight off of the sled and a sustained gust of wind directed at the mast, the eight of us began sailing over the barren plains.

  Cool winds brushed past my cheeks as we began accelerating. Despite the weight of eight fully grown adults—nine, because Taegen was large enough to count as two people—the oversized sled never faltered or showed signs of breaking. I couldn’t help but be impressed as Daria continuously managed the three spells in order to keep the sled moving. Her remaining teammate, Orid, used his earth magic to steer us and smooth particularly uneven parts of the ground that could potentially damage the sled, further enhancing our speed.

  After about thirty minutes of travelling, the rest of the ascenders had grown confident enough in Daria that they began to relax and actually enjoy the ride.

  I was sitting in the back of the sled, leaning forward against the rear railing, simply staring out at the vast expanse of unimpressive dirt and the clear blue sky. I had long since accepted the fact that I was looking up at a sky within an ancient ruin that was supposed to be deep underground.

  I’d known for a long time—since visiting Epheotus—that aether was capable of many things that mana was not, but I hadn’t truly understood what was achievable using its godly power. How could I have, though, when even the asuras didn’t fully grasp its nature?

  Which is why they destroyed the ancient mages who built this very dungeon, I thought, suddenly melancholy.

  Eager to turn my thoughts to something less dark, I surreptitiously inspected the others. Aside from Daria and Orid, both of whom were concentrating on keeping us moving, the rest of the ascenders were quiet and distant. Caera’s group was the only team left unscathed, and the weight of loss was heavy among the remaining ascenders.

  The ascender named Keir, who wielded a quarterstaff and controlled motes of electricity to both defend and attack, was polishing his weapon. The unassuming looking man used a thin cloth to dig out the grime that had accumulated in the engravings of his wooden staff, which he handled with care.

  Trider had his eyes closed, leaning back against the railing with his arms folded and legs crossed.

  Arian was meditating, and, while I wasn’t able to feel mana anymore, the pressure he gave off was obvious. Next to him, Caera was staring at the white dagger in her hand, still in its sheath. Her expression was difficult to read; she had an air of indifference as she studied the weapon that I was sure hid her real feelings.

  Suddenly, a tear rolled down her cheek. She immediately wiped it with the back of her hand before suspiciously glancing around to see if anyone had seen.

  Her eyes locked with mine, and, for a split second, I saw a flash of embarrassment pass over her face as she quickly turned away.

  Clearing my throat, I turned around to face away from the group, resting my arms on the cold railing. I tried to find something else to occupy my mind, not willing to address the issue needling away at me, but that didn’t last long.

  Regis, I thought. Are you still not talking to me?

  I waited for a response, feeling very strange. It wasn’t every day you thought something in your head and then waited expectantly for an answer. When none came, I let out a sigh and continued to relay my thoughts, hoping that Regis was listening.

  As if I was reading out of my own diary, I conveyed to Regis that, despite having more than an entire lifetime, my ability to properly express and communicate my emotions was passable on a good day. In battle, when it was just me and my sword, that didn’t matter. I didn’t have to communicate or convey my thoughts in a tactful manner. No, my swords were weapons, tools that I could utilize and take full advantage of in order to win a battle.

  However, Regis was a weapon with sentience and an even bigger personality than I had. He was less a weapon and more a companion, one I truly relied on for some semblance of human interaction. I had tried to shove him in that cookie-cutter role that I had made for weapons, but that quickly failed as he became more and more of a friend to me… like Sylvie had been.

  Regis’s timing alone had made it hard for me not to compare him to Sylvie, who had sacrificed herself to keep me from destroying myself. A large part of why I wanted to get stronger was because I still hoped to bring Sylvie back from her comatose state, but with every dumb conversation and meaningless quibble with Regis I had, I grew more scared that she might feel replaced when she came back.

  But you know what I’m afraid of the most? Even though I have the body of an asura and the ability to manipulate aether in a way that not even the Indrath Clan can, I’m afraid of growing close to you.

  I paused, realizing that I had subconsciously placed my hand on the pouch carrying Sylvie’s stone.

  I’ve lost a lot, Regis. Adam, my father, Sylvie, and even Dawn’s Ballad. My mother, sister, Tessia, Virion, they’re all back in Dicathen and I have no clue how to return to them. Worst case, the Alacryans have found the bunker and they’ve all been captured… or killed. Not to be overdramatic, but it feels like the closer I become with someone, the harder it is for me to protect them.

  I cracked a wry smile.

  I’m beginning to remember more and more why I became the person who I was back in my previous life… and it’s why I needed to just think of you as a weapon, Regis. Because it’s easier for me that way, in case I lose you too.

  I waited and hoped for a response, but it didn’t come.

  Instead, my internal monologue was broken by the shifting color of our surroundings. As if the very sky had been marred, crimson seeped out of invisible wounds in the blue and spread from horizon to horizon. The very air seemed thinner, and the tension that blanketed over us felt almost tangible. I could tell this wave was going to be different.

  “The wave is here,” Taegen said, standing up.

  “We’re not going to stop, so hold on!” Daria declared, increasing the strength of the wind blowing against the mast.

  The sled sped on as the dirt field began to crack and split apart ahead of us. Fortunately, the obsidian structure, which stood even taller than castle watchtowers, was only a few miles away, the shimmering red sphere perched at its peak.

  The last few miles, however, were undoubtedly going to be the hardest. Carallians were already emerging by the dozens from the ground ahead, creating a living barrier that blocked our path to the exit.

  “Shields, prepare to clear a path for us,” Arian barked. “We need to reach the tower before the guardian appears!”

  Orid stopped focusing on the path ahead and instead conjured slabs of earth that began rotating around us.

  The ride immediately turned rough without Orid’s earth mana smoothing the path, but we clung on to the railing, and the sled seemed equal to the beating it was taking.

  Keir’s staff flashed, and orbs of electricity flew outward from him and began weaving in and out of the earthen shields.

  “Let me take over the mast,” Trider called out, hobbling toward Daria. “You’ll have to maintain the updraft, but you’re the only Caster left. Help the Shields.”

  Daria hesitated, looking over the wounded ascender, then nodded, releasing the bindings of ice anchoring her to the sled.

  Sweating and pale, the Caster gave me
a knowing glance. I inclined my head in acknowledgement. A deal was a deal.

  Trider summoned bracers of wind and got to work. He pushed out with his fists aimed at the mast, keeping up the steady force that was pushing us across the ground.

  Daria, free from her most strenuous obligation, called forth bursts of wind powerful enough to knock the enlarged carallians out of the way. The ones that she missed were either pushed aside by the panels of compressed earth or stunned by the orbs of electricity hovering around us.

  Something was wrong. My body felt it. Judging by how anxious Taegen looked, his face in a fierce scowl and his gaze darting left and right as if searching for something, I knew I wasn’t the only one.

  The earth suddenly trembled, causing Keir to lose balance and let go of his spell.

  “W-what’s going on?” he shouted, trying to scramble back to his feet.

  The earth shook once more, even stronger this time, followed by a bloodcurdling roar that reverberated up from the ground and vibrated through the sled so that hairline cracks formed in the bottom.

  My hair stood on end and a familiar voice affirmed the very action I was about to take.

  ‘Get out of here, Arthur!’ Regis shouted, a wave of fear spreading from my companion into me.

  But before I could make a move, the ground heaved and I felt a rush of vertigo as the entire sled rose into the air on a geyser of hard soil.

  Keir, who had been trying to get back to his feet, was thrown off of the edge and slammed sideways by one of the panels of earth circling around us.

  His body quickly receded from view as he fell off the rising ground, which carried us higher and higher into the red sky.

  Another bestial roar resounded through the zone, unmuffled this time and loud enough to make me dizzy. Just ahead, a tower rose even faster and higher than our sled, so large and tall that it eclipsed the majority of the sky.

  Then it looked at us. The tower casting its massive shadow over us was, in fact, a long, serpentine neck.

  Resting on the top of the neck, which stretched over ten stories high, was the leathery head of a bat with a disproportionately large mouth and two piercing purple eyes, each larger than a carriage and boring down directly at us.

  276

  Descent

  Despite the initial shock of the colossal monster looming over us, it didn’t take long for the ascenders to snap back to reality. Thanks to Regis’s warning, I was able to react in time to fully dodge the wide tip of the beast’s tail. Everyone else had been too focused on its grotesque face.

  Time seemed to slow as I watched the beast’s leathery tail snap down, shattering the sled like it was made of glass. Taegen barely reacted in time to push Caera out of the way, only to get crushed alongside Trider underneath the large tail. The shockwave of force generated by the impact sent everyone else tumbling away from the demolished sled.

  ‘Let’s go!’ Regis urged.

  My eyes shifted between Daria and Caera, both unconscious, both falling from the high ledge of earth that rested on the titanic beast’s snake-like body.

  Regis, get Daria!

  A surge of anger, fear, and disgust rose up in me, only to fizzle out an instant later as my companion let out an audible groan in my mind. Despite the situation, a smile crept across my face as I watched Regis leap out of my body, his shadowy wolf form bolting toward the unconscious Daria.

  Meanwhile, I released the limiter that I had imposed on myself, bursting forward in a shroud of aether as my eyes tracked across the battlefield, taking stock of the situation.

  Daria’s teammate, Orid, was nowhere to be seen. A pool of blood spread from underneath the leathery tail. Arian had managed to avoid being completely thrown off by imbedding his glowing sword into the side of the titan’s body and hanging on for dear life. He hadn’t escaped without injury however: the swordsman’s face was smeared with blood, and his free arm hung limply at his side, waving freely in a way that suggested it had been badly broken.

  I cleared the distance between me and the falling Caera, her face lost in a curtain of navy hair. I barely managed to grab her ankle as I hung off the cliff of the risen earth, wishing for the dozenth time that my mana core hadn’t been broken.

  How many more options would I have had if I was able to use mana? I could’ve flown safely out of harm’s way, hell—I could’ve avoided this fight altogether.

  Before I could even pull Caera and myself back up, however, I looked up to see the titan’s huge violet eyes glaring down at me. Swirling within its unhinged jaw was a massive sphere of silvery mana aimed straight at us.

  My heart pounded against my chest as I considered my options. Could I pull us up and run fast enough to dodge the attack? What would the width of the blast be? Would I be able to dodge it if I let Caera go? Or should I jump down the steep body of the beast onto solid land?

  Cursing under my breath, I threw Caera up onto the titan’s back and got my feet back under me just as the titan released its breath attack. I hadn’t been gentle with the highblooded Alacryan, and she stirred awake from the impact of being thrown. The look she gave me was one of utter confusion when I suddenly scooped her up and slung her over my shoulder.

  “W-what is the meaning of—” Her words cut off as a shrill hum vibrated through the air and the surrounding area was bathed in a bright white light.

  I looked back to see the mana blast disintegrating everything in its path.

  With no time to stop and check on Caera, I sprinted away from the blast, trying to maneuver us out of its path. We passed the shattered sled where Trider’s remains lay amidst the wreckage caused by the titan’s tail attack, but there was no sign of Taegen.

  The destructive beam of pure mana continued to chase after us as I sprinted across the broken surface of the raised ground resting on top of the titan’s body. We weren’t going to make it. I was quick, but Caera was dead weight, and the blast was too wide and too fast for me to outmaneuver.

  “Do something, or I’ll have to leave you!” I shouted over my shoulder.

  I felt Caera subconsciously tighten her grip around me, but she remained silent as we neared the far end of the rocky platform, the white light growing bright behind us.

  “I don’t—” The red-eyed ascender let out a scared yelp as I loosened my grip around her, threatening to drop her.

  I knew from watching her fight against the carallians that she was hiding something. I was certain that she was suppressing her abilities in much the same way I’d hidden my own, and if she wouldn’t go all out to keep herself alive, I wasn’t about to sacrifice myself for her.

  “Okay!” she relented, her mana-infused nails digging into my skin as she clung on for her life. “Just keep running.”

  “There’s nowhere to run!” I retorted, the cliff edge drawing closer. Caera stayed silent, but I felt an ominous power building within her that I hadn’t felt before.

  With no choice but to trust her, I navigated away from the approaching blast of mana as the diminishing ground became even more unstable. Reaching the far edge of the titan’s towering body, I concentrated all my aether into my legs and back and pushed off with all of my strength.

  Without wind magic to redirect the air resistance, I could only grit my teeth and endure the thick wall of wind pushing back against our bodies as we sailed through the air.

  As the menacing power continued to grow stronger around Caera, who was still slung over my shoulder, I looked back at the guardian. I thought that literally standing on the gigantic beast and seeing it up close would’ve prepared me for the sight, but I was wrong.

  Despite all of the mana beasts I had encountered and fought over the years in Dicathen, it took me several moments to trace the full length of the writhing, snake-like form, and it was difficult to fathom that the creature was one, single entity—my brain just didn’t want to believe that there could be something so truly enormous in the world.

  The creature was
about as tall as the tower holding the power source, but the black edifice looked miniscule in comparison to the overall length and girth of the titan.

  From a distance, the colossal monster reminded me of an enormous, coiling dragon. It was just missing the wings. Both its long tail and neck were attached to a leathery torso that could easily be mistaken for a small mountain from up close. Supporting its weight were six legs, each as thick as its neck.

  “Caera!” I roared as the shimmering beam passed just below and behind us, but the huge, amethyst pools of the titan’s eyes were following our flight, and the beam’s trajectory shifted as we began descending; we were going to fall straight through it.

  At the height from which we had jumped, I had no confidence in surviving the impact from the fall, let alone the titan’s breath attack steadily approaching us.

  Twisting my body in midair so I was fully facing the monster, I began concentrating all of my aether into the palm of my right hand. I knew even the beam of pure aether, my most potent attack, wouldn’t be enough to counter the titan’s mana beam, but I had little choice. Caera remained completely still and silent as she hung over my shoulder.

  Just as the two of us were about to be swept into the destructive tidal surge of mana, and just as I was about to release my own attack, Caera wriggled around in my grasp. She hooked one arm around my neck to keep herself stable as she withdrew her curved sword from a dimension ring.

  I stopped my attack just in time to witness a flaming black aura wrap over the crimson blade as she swung down.

  Her once-red blade extended into a flaming black crescent that cut through the shining white cone of mana, severing it and creating a path just wide enough for us to fall through before the black flame failed and faded away. Judging by how the path of the monster’s attack continued up, I could tell that it would be hard for it to change its direction back downward, giving us a momentary reprieve.