by Kyle West
Yes.
I was blinded by the force of the flood. It dominated everything. I couldn’t fight my way out of it, and my control was slipping. I drew as much of my own power as I could, forcing the lines of power to obey, to focus on a single point.
The power from all five of us focused into a laser thin line—a line I needed to cut the Hyperfold from the source, the Point of Origin of the Sea of Creation.
It was now or never.
I held that line in my hands, searing hot, as I cut against the line tethering the light to the Sea. Even with as much power as I had, I couldn’t break through.
At once, five pairs of eyes widened in statement.
Focus, I thought. Everyone . . . can you hear me?
Yes, they replied in unison.
I’m going to need you to draw all the power you can from the Xenofold. I just tried to cut it from the source, but our power isn’t enough.
I felt everyone’s focus deepen as they drew yet more power.
It felt as if the entirety of the power of the Xenofold was focused through us, in its last-ditch effort to save itself from the parasite that was the Hyperfold. To my amazement, I felt a hand on my arm and instantly felt Isa’s presence.
Let me help, she said.
Isa . . . you can’t . . .
I’ve manifested, she said. Let me add what I can.
And, as she said, she directed her own energy to join what was already a storm of power. Six strands shot out, braided, probing the light for the key that would destroy it.
I didn’t know what I was looking for . . . not at first. But as I dove deeper, closer, I started to see flashes—dark flashes, bright flashes, and then, different colors. The colors swam in nonsensical patterns that were dizzying to behold.
More power, I thought.
A sudden rush went through me as the others obliged, pulling power beyond their normal limits—power which, if sustained, could risk burning them out for good. The power I felt flowing through me made Aether feel like a cup of weak coffee.
Focus, I told myself.
The colors began to weave themselves into images.
More power, I thought.
I felt the others straining, but I still needed more.
The images wove into pictures . . . pictures that began to move. I saw trees, rivers, lakes, cities.
Entire worlds began to reveal themselves to me. I realized then that I was viewing the Hyperfold from the outside.
I saw the city of Hyperborea, as I remembered from my own time in the Hyperfold, during the height of its power. Crystal towers and bridges rose among Silverwoods and sacred groves, the city surrounded by its fabled lakes of ichor.
The key is in there, I thought. Hold on.
The images blazed by. I flew through city streets, an unstoppable force, weaving between buildings in a blur. I only stopped when I came to the gates of the Cloud Palace, rising high above the rest of the city that rested on bridges. I flew right through the walls, passed people dressed in rich robes of velvet and silk, flew upstairs at incredible speed.
It was in here, somewhere.
And I felt something pulling me.
It was above, in one of the high towers.
There was no time to waste. I shot in that direction, going through walls and floors, the pull growing ever stronger.
And then I was there. Shal stood in his chambers, the window opened to the clouds. His robes were of a rich green, and his hair was shoulder length and gray. He wore a square shaped hat that must have been fashionable in this place and time.
I noticed the others standing around me—Isandru, Mia, Shara, Isa, and Fiona. All of us wore the clothes and the weapons from the outside. I knew I needed to maintain our connection to the outside or we would slip inside the Hyperfold, with no escape. So, I held onto it so we always had a way out.
However, for all purposes, we were here.
“Shal,” I said.
He turned around nonchalantly. “Oh. It’s you.” He frowned, looking at all my friends. “Mia.” He smiled in a predacious manner. “How good it is to see you.”
“For the last time, Shal,” she said.
He chuckled, showing his sharp incisors. “That is true. But perhaps not in the way that you meant.”
“We’re here for the sphere-key,” I said. “I know you have it.”
“Why do you want it?” he asked, almost lazily, as he turned back to face the window. “Don’t you see that you are going to lose, Anna?”
“The Xenofold is all that protects us from the Radaskim,” I said. “So long as your Hyperfold stands, the world is without defense.”
“I see that you have spoken with our Nameless friend,” he said. “Does it not concern you that he led you to this place, and placed you in my power?”
“Your power?” I asked. “We can leave anytime we want. My connection to the outside world is not something even you can touch, Radaskim.”
Shal whipped around. The smile had grown and his cold blue eyes flashed. “Do you know how much time has passed since you’ve been in here? You should have learned that last time; this place is outside of time. I control its flow. And I’ve seen fit to slow things considerably since you’ve been in here.” He chuckled. “I think you’ll find that enough time has passed on the outside to give my loyal vassal, Isaru, time to pillage the Eastern Kingdoms and return to deal with you.”
“Hand over the key, or die.”
“Take it from me, then,” he said. “. . . If you can.”
I ran forward, unsheathed my blade, and took up Flameform. Rakhim responded by drawing his own sword, parrying my first thrust. The others shot forward to assist, but with a wave of his hand, they were thrown back against the far wall, leaving only me to face him.
“They cannot help you, Shanti,” he said. “I’m afraid you’ll have to face me alone. You are in sole possession of the power that got you here, so you are going to be the one who gets them out.”
His chuckle was maniacal as he unleashed a storm of thrusts, strikes, and sweeps, his blade illumined with an ethereal glow. I was on the backfoot; each time our blades met, it felt as if lightning had struck me.
“I am a god here, Anna,” he said, pressing his blade ever closer to my neck as I struggled to defend. “Just as you are a god in your own world. You were a fool to come here.”
He would overpower me in this way if I let him, so I had to take a risk. I reached out with my right foot, threatening to trip him. While I didn’t succeed in doing so, it was enough to give me a bit of leeway in escaping his blade. I ducked and spun, facing him again, this time assuming a more defensive form—Tree.
“I will destroy this place again,” he said. “I will force you to flee. Do you know how much it hurts the Xenofold when I do that?”
Despite the defensiveness of my form, I closed the distance between Shal and I. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my friends pressed against the wall, helpless.
I need more power, I said.
We’re trying, Shanti, Shara said.
I felt a bit more power. In this place, the rules of reality could be bent. I channeled all my energy into my blade until it was a fiery red in counterpart to Shal’s green blade. I ran forward, screaming.
Now Rakhim was defending himself, moving just as fast I was, both of our blades a blur. I could predict his future moves, and I positioned myself to take advantage of all of them. At the end of the blade storm, he fell, his sword dropping.
I raised my blade high to plunge it deep inside him.
That was when the floor beneath me shifted.
I lost my balance, falling to a floor that was now diagonal. The surrounding walls were crumbling, large stones falling from the collapsing roof. It was like what happened to the Hyperfold the first time . . . since then, it had been rebuilt, only to be destroyed again.
The key, I thought. Focus on the key.
But there were my friends’ lives to consider. If they died in this place, there w
ould be no consciousness to return to the outside. Yet if I left here without destroying the Hyperfold, then it was all for nothing.
For now, they seemed to be safe up there. But I had to end this quickly.
I sheathed my blade and started to climb the floor, which was nearly vertical.
Shal was climbing, too. Without his blade, he was making no pretense of fighting. All he could do was destroy this building and threaten my friends’ lives.
With horror, I realized that it was to my friends he was going and that he was much closer than me.
I climbed even faster, fighting falling rocks and a floor that tipped ever vertical.
I realized then that it wasn’t the palace collapsing. The entire world was literally being turned upside down.
Above, my friends were lying on their backs on what had once been the wall. If I could just get over the ledge, I could go protect them and deal the final blow to Shal.
At last, I made it, only to find Shal standing over them, blade in hand. A glow surrounded him from the power he was channeling.
“No.”
Though I spoke quietly, Shal turned to face me.
“It’s too late!” he shouted.
His whole body quivered as the light surrounding him intensified. The walls of the palace suddenly snapped and what was the wall began shifting downward.
I ran forward with my blade out, almost falling as I ran downhill. Rocks and masonry fell about me, and below, I could see the sky . . . toward which I was falling. I fell from the wall, pointing my sword outward directly at Shal, who stood rooted to the wall by some unseen force.
My blade was pointed right at him, but he was turning away, still glued to the floor. I shifted my body around, extending my blade just as I was falling past him.
Only for another blade to block mine.
Someone was falling right beside me, someone with flowing silver hair and totally white eyes. The face smiled.
“Isaru?”
His smile widened in response.
He couldn’t be here unless . . .
That was when he simply disappeared into mid-air.
It took me a moment to realize what had happened.
We had to get out, now.
Thankfully, whatever connection there had been between our world in this one was still there. I felt myself being pulled along the line bridging the two.
As the crumbling world of the Hyperfold faded into the darkness, the last sound I heard was Mia’s scream.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
IMAGES SWAM AND THE COLORS coalesced. There was a blip of bright light, followed quickly by my vision returning to witness a scene of madness.
Isaru was above, falling from the top of the sphere, his exit point, with his blade pointing down. Directly below him was Mia, who stood quietly between Isandru and Fiona, her eyes closed in meditation.
“No!”
I ran, but too slow. I couldn’t be faster than gravity. Isaru’s blade was extended in much the same way mine had been when I was trying to kill Shal. The blade fell, without slowing, right through Mia’s exposed back, coming out her middle. Her eyes opened then, wide with shock, as Isaru held the blade inside.
She did not move a muscle. The blade was still inside her as the others came awake and with that, Isaru pulled the blade back, a blade coated in Mia’s blood. He gained some distance as her body fell forward, right into the light. She remained there, utterly still.
The light intensified, growing and growing until it completely consumed her.
By now, the others had returned. Isandru was screaming, but the thrumming of the light drowned out his sound. I felt searing-hot anger and unrelenting sorrow. I had been too slow. I had been too slow, and Mia was dead.
Isaru’s eyes were glowing as he watched from a distance. There was no emotion on that face. There was nothing left of the friend I once knew.
He had to die for this.
I ran forward with reckless abandon. When Isaru and my blades met, it sent forth a shower of sparks. To my surprise, mine still glowed red as if it were hot from a forge. Isaru danced backward, parrying and avoiding my every thrust.
The others rushed to join me, Fiona spinning and striking him with unrelenting force, while arrows blazed from Isa’s bow. It wasn’t about a fair fight anymore. Even as strong as he was, Isaru could not defend himself against all of us for long. It was all he could do to defend himself as he stepped backward, heading for the exit.
We couldn’t let him escape.
But missing among us was Isandru. I looked back to see him, still kneeling beside his sister. He looked up at me, his face a mask of sorrow.
I must do this, he said, his thoughts inside my mind. Defeat Isaru! Leave this place, and leave Shal to me. I will find the key! I will destroy the Hyperfold.
Isandru!
Go! Go now!
Something of my connection remained between this world and the Hyperfold . . . the very same connection Isaru had followed to find us. Isandru was now being swallowed by the light, just as Mia’s dead body had been. He wasn’t merely letting his conscious go in, he was letting himself go in, in full. If he destroyed the Hyperfold in there, then it was as good as destroying himself, too.
I knew there was no stopping him.
Elekim will protect you, Elder Isandru.
And then, he was gone.
As much as I wanted to weep, I had to face what was before me. Isaru rushed forward like a man possessed, going straight for me. I stopped his blade just in time to parry a few strikes as Fiona and Shara closed in from behind. Rather than get trapped, Isaru backed away, going hard at Fiona just long enough for her form to break.
This gave him enough of a window to sprint for the exit with Isa’s arrows raining after him. He managed to dodge every single one without even turning to look.
As we gave chase, he slipped through the veil separating the Thought Dome from the outside world.
Within a moment, we were outside too. It was evening, it was very cold, and the Odin was gone. Hundreds of dragons circled in a dismal gray sky as the wind blew autumn leaves in a swirling storm. Shal was right—weeks had passed since we entered here.
Isaru now faced us, smiling. “Time for you to die.” He walked forward, and in tandem, the swarm of dragons dove for us on the bridge.
I only saw one way out of this. “Bond with me!”
As we had before—Fiona, Shara, Isa, and I joined our consciousness into one. But there was another entrant.
Isaru, somehow realizing what we were doing, snarled. He ran forward, just seconds away from striking me.
I raised my sword but it turned out I wouldn’t need it. I reached out with my mind, connecting with Isaru’s. Reading it, there was nothing I could see of the original person . . . my friend.
He was too powerful to be controlled, I could sense that much. But I could tether him temporarily. So that was what I did, blinding him with the power of the Xenofold.
When it was over, I gave him the command. Stop your dragons.
Isaru shook as he struggled to disobey the command. But, then, he nodded.
The dragons which had been diving for us swerved away, screaming and flying in the opposite direction.
I felt the power of the Xenofold surge through me, an unstoppable torrent. I could feel the others tiring. Isa dropped out, unable to do any more. Shara was about to break.
Hold on, I said. We need them as far from us as possible.
After another minute, Shara dropped from the connection, unable to do more.
It was just Fiona and me now. Isaru was fighting back against us. When Fiona dropped out, there was no way I could hold him alone.
But it would happen even before that. I felt myself forced back, along with Fiona. We sprawled on the ground.
When I scrambled up, Isaru was running.
Isa shot at him with her arrows. Nothing was wrong with her aim—it was true as it ever could be. Isaru merely knew exactly when to dodge, so that wa
s what he did as he sprinted away toward the ruined the city.
Fiona and Shara started to chase him.
“No!” I said.
They turned to face me, and Shara said, “We have to stop him, Shanti!”
“Those dragons will turn back any minute once he gets control of them,” I said. “He can outrun us all.”
Isa shot one more arrow, her face recognizing the futility. Her eyes burned like blue fire as tears streamed down her face.
“You know I’m right,” I said. “If we follow . . . we’re all dead.”
Silence followed. They knew I was right.
“So, we just run,” Shara said, her voice shaky. “After he killed them.”
I nodded, as hard as it was. “We will have our vengeance. It’s not Isaru. It’s Shal. But . . . we have seen what he’s capable of. We will have to kill him another time.”
The worst had come to pass. We had let Isaru escape, and now, two of us were dead. The weight of the loss was too unreal to realize at that moment.
If we didn’t get off this bridge in the next few minutes, we were as good as dead.
“There’s a tree over here we can climb down,” Shara said. “Plenty of branches. We can reach the forest floor and perhaps be safe from the dragons.”
Ahead, I could see the dragons swirling above the city. Isaru was nearly there, his form small with distance.
“We have to go now,” I said.
Fiona looked at me, seeming to accept the decision.
“Isandru is not dead,” I said. “He entered the Hyperfold in bodily form. He’s alive, and he’s working to destroy it from within. We . . . have to hope.”
Tears came to my eyes but I forced myself to stop, even if all I wanted to do was grieve.
“If he destroys the Hyperfold, then he will die,” Isa said.
“We need to go,” Shara said. “Pallos, I assume, was forced to flee.”
“Yeah,” I said, “I assume so, too. I told him to pick us up in the forest to the west, and barring that, the western slope of the Crater.”
“Looks like we have a goal, then,” Fiona said. “May they both find rest . . . but the grieving must wait. Too many lives depend on us now.” She gestured to Isa. “You first.”
