by Aaron Oster
“Alright. We’re going to try and stay as quiet as we can. It’ll take us about twelve hours to make it through, but I have no idea how heavily this area will be patrolled.”
Roy nodded once more, and Aika took off running again, with Ferry streaking after her a moment later. He could now feel a sense of urgency to their movements that he hadn’t felt before. They were in enemy territory, and even the smallest slipup on their parts could cost them their lives.
Thankfully, it seemed that they were only ones around. They traveled in relative silence, the only sounds being their breathing and the light swish of air caused by their passing. His eyes were constantly moving, as he would have the greatest vantage from his perch on Ferry’s back.
Aika, of course, would have a much keener Spirit Sense than him, so it was kind of pointless. But Roy remembered well his fight with the monster deer. It had caught him completely unaware, due to its ability to keep its Core suppressed. He wasn’t about to take that kind of chance again.
As the sunlight faded into night and they had yet to run into anyone, Roy began to relax. They could continue moving due to Ferry and Aika’s excellent vision. He could see, to a certain extent, but not nearly as well as either of them. Aika had a Core Body and Ferry was a Beast, so they had him completely outclassed in that sense.
Despite the constant flashes of lightning overhead, he felt much better. It would be difficult to detect them in the darkness, especially with Ferry’s coloration and Path. He also knew that Aika was very good at hiding herself.
Roy had stopped cycling nearly an hour ago, as he’d begun to grow bored of the practice. They had to remain silent, so there was little else to do, but he was beginning to feel distinctly uneasy. They’d been going for nearly eleven hours by now and he was surprised he wasn’t as tired as he’d expected to be after all this time. He was sure he owed his cultivation level for that, though he was beginning to feel the effects of staying awake for so long.
It had taken them over four hours to reach the border of the Beast territory, and it was now well past midnight. They were on the last leg of their journey and approaching the border with the Lighted Fields. The closer they got, the more tense everyone became. Not just him, but Aika and Ferry as well.
A flash of lightning suddenly illuminated a jagged structure, highlighting it against the skyline. Roy flinched in surprise, but it seemed that Aika had expected it, as she didn’t falter in her running. He was impressed. They’d been running for nearly sixteen hours at this point, and she showed no signs of slacking.
Having a Core Body must come with some serious benefits, aside from the obvious, he thought, watching as the sky lit up, revealing the jagged outline again.
This time he was able to identify it as a wall of some sort. Lightning continued flashing intermittently, illuminating the approaching wall. Small details began to become visible as they drew nearer, showing that the structure was not man-made.
It seemed that this truly was the border of The Crater. The tall uneven stone walls that rose before them weren’t exactly built at right angles to the ground. Rather, they started on a gentle slope, becoming ever steeper as they rose, towering hundreds of feet into the sky.
“I had no idea The Crater was an actual crater,” Roy said, speaking with his mind.
“Really? I thought it would have been obvious,” Geon replied.
“Any idea how this place was created?” he asked, his eyes traveling up the massive walls, the top of which he could no longer see, due to their proximity.
“I think it was one of those things I used to know,” Geon answered. “It’s very annoying having so much of your memory ripped away. Almost enough to make a sane Core go mad.”
“How would we even get over that?”
“We probably can’t. My guess is that there’s a way to get through. Some sort of tunnel. But it’s most likely going to be heavily guarded. If you were hoping to get out without a fight, you can think again.”
Roy let out a low groan as he realized Geon was probably right. The thought of having to fight in his tired state was not something he wanted to do. In fact, having to fight at all before he was strong enough to stand on his own wasn’t exciting. He’d seen the patrols over the last few weeks, and the very weakest of them had been at Base Orange, a full stage ahead of him.
Another flash of lightning revealed a shadowy opening in the rockface. If anything, it looked even less welcoming than the wall itself. But Roy knew that to get out of The Crater, they would more than likely be forced to travel through it.
Sure enough, Aika didn’t even slow, running full tilt into the shadowy opening. Roy had no idea why she was being so reckless. For all she knew, the place could be packed full of enemy Martial Artists. But then again, her senses were better than his.
Roy felt frustration mounting once again at his inability to do anything useful. If there was anyone who was dragging their small group down, it was him. Had he not been here, Aika and Ferry would have been able to travel much faster. True, Ferry wasn’t as fast as Aika, but without the extra burden of carrying him, she’d be able to move much faster. If they ran into trouble, and Roy always expected to run into trouble, he’d be less than useless.
Darkness closed in around them as they entered the tunnel, making even his enhanced sight completely useless. All sounds seemed to be oddly muffled and Roy could practically feel the thousands of tons of stone over his head. Aika and Ferry could obviously still see where they were going, else they would have slowed down, but that didn’t make him any more comfortable.
The sounds of their breathing were now more pronounced, echoing off the walls as they moved along. Then, as suddenly as the light faded, it was back, shining far brighter than should have been possible for this time of night.
Roy flinched, his eyes reflexively closing against the bright light. He felt Ferry lurch underfoot, then a shout of surprise. Something flew past his head, slamming into the wall behind him with enough force to shatter the stone. Then Aika’s voice sounded, loud and determined.
“Don’t stop! Keep pushing through!”
Then, suddenly, Roy was able to see. The tunnel opened up before them, leading out into a very strange landscape that shone bright as day. The sky overhead was dark, which made the entire situation look so surreal. Massive colorful plants rose high into the sky, shimmering with multicolored light.
Outlined by the cave mouth, was a group of roughly fifteen people, all staring at them and clearly hostile. Roy could see that one was pulling back – clearly, the one who’d launched that attack – and the others were gearing up for a fight.
They were approaching at a rapid pace, Ferry seeming to take Aika’s advice to heart and pushing through. Aika was a streak of light, nearly invisible as she crossed the intervening distance and crashed into the group, causing confusion and scattering them. Ferry took the opening. Darkness cloaked her form, and suddenly, she shot forward, slipping neatly through the gap and out into the lighted fields.
“We made it!” Roy exclaimed, glad to be out of that oppressive tunnel, brief as their time in there had been.
“Not yet, we haven’t. Keep running!” Aika called out, catching up and easily overtaking them.
Roy whirled in his seat and felt his heart sink. Somehow, he’d had it in his mind that the Beast clan would give up pursuit if they made it out of their territory. Obviously, they would be followed if they ran. With a growl of annoyance, Roy twisted back and began channeling his Essence in preparation to use the Void Sphere. He wasn’t sure how much good it would do them, but if it could throw them off by even a minute, they might just be able to get away.
***
Tonde Kaeru leaned back in his favorite overstuffed chair. His eyes were closed, his shirt was off, and a small reed switched back and forth above his face as he moved it between his teeth.
To the outside observer, it would appear that this was a man who was completely relaxed without so much as a care in the world. They would be only partia
lly correct. Sure, he was quite comfortable, and though his body was resting, his mind was not.
Kaeru was mulling over the meeting between the clan Grandmasters just a few days prior. As it turned out, Irusaru had not shown up. This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. The old man was completely unreliable and seemed to run on his own schedule. Hato had been furious that he hadn’t shown up, but there was little anyone could do about it.
No one knew the old man’s whereabouts. The last they’d seen of him was when he’d shown up at the school with his granddaughter and a mystery Martial Artist in tow. Aika had since been spotted on the open ground of The Crater but her grandfather had not been with her.
Kaeru let out a long breath, the tip of the reed fluttering as a result. What the Grandmasters had had to say was pretty much as he’d expected. The losses on all sides were beginning to mount, and even if they won, it would still be a heavy loss. The time was quickly approaching where he would either have to commit a large force in an all-out attack or issue a challenge and hope the Beast King accepted.
The door slid open, revealing Hato. She was dressed in a long flowing black robe, the Blue-Belt cinched at her waist.
“Why are you not working?” she demanded as she closed the door behind her.
Kaeru cracked an eye, noting that she was dressed a bit more extravagantly than usual. Her long black hair was pinned up, with a long needle running through the back. Her slim, pale cheeks had a light hint of pink, and her eyes seemed to shine, highlighted by the line of black surrounding them.
He didn’t bother commenting. Whatever she was doing, it was her own business.
“There isn’t really any work to be done,” he responded, yawning widely.
“You are the head of a clan. There is always work that needs to be done!” she snapped at him.
She then launched into a tirade of all the different things he could be doing right now. Filling out reports, sending down orders to his subordinates, actually leaving his filthy room. The usual and boring stuff.
“…I’d think you’d be a bit more worried about one of your Grandmasters just not showing up!” she finished.
Kaeru waved a hand through the air, waving away her concerns.
“Irusaru has always done whatever he wanted. I’m sure he’s fine. And as for all that other stuff, well, what do I have you for? You do a much better job. In fact, maybe you should run the clan?” he hedged.
“You will not dump your responsibility onto me!” Hato immediately shut him down.
This hadn’t been the first time he’d tried to get her to take over either. In truth, Kaeru was growing bored of leading the clan. He’d never felt like the role suited him but had had no choice but to accept when the last clan head had passed. Running a clan for so many years had seriously stalled his own training.
He hadn’t grown at all in nearly fifty years. He’d managed to master all nine techniques of Chakra, earning him the title of Supreme, but that had been laughably easy. He’d already had a firm grasp of Chakra, even before he’d advanced to Red-Belt. And once he’d done so, adjusting his Qi techniques accordingly had been the work of only a single month.
“Oh, come on, please?” he asked, placing his hands together in a placating gesture.
Hato’s face was livid at this point. Her cheeks had gone from a rosy pink to a dark crimson, and Kaeru began to fear for the safety of his room. Hato couldn’t do much to hurt him, no one could at this point, but his belongings did not have such protections. His sister took a deep breath, seeming to try and calm herself.
“I did not come here to chastise you,” she said, taking deep breaths. “I came here because I am going out to dinner with Porto. He has petitioned for my hand, and I will oblige.”
Now, this did surprise him.
“Since when are you interested in that old geezer?” Kaeru asked, sitting up in his chair.
In truth, Porto wasn’t actually that old, just ten or so years older than Hato. And already he was a Grandmaster. He’d only recently earned the title, but as the youngest Purple-Belt in the clan, he showed promise for a bright future.
Hato simply rolled her eyes at him and pointed to the robe he’d carelessly slung over the back of a chair.
“Put that on. You are to be my escort. And I don’t want to hear so much as a peep out of you. You will behave, else I will destroy that chair you so seem to love.”
Kaeru was at her side in a blink, robes properly tied and pleated with his Belt tied around his waist. His hair had been smoothed back, and he held an arm out to his sister.
“Then let us away. There is no time to waste!”
Hato slipped her fingers into the crook of his elbow and he escorted her out of his room, a knowing smirk playing at the corners of her lips.
Kaeru didn’t take threats to himself seriously. But threaten to break his stuff, and he would oblige to requests without hesitation.
11
Roy’s Void Sphere exploded against the leading Martial Artist, sending up a cloud of smoke and debris.
“Did you get him?” Aika asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the path ahead.
“Not sure,” Roy called back, watching the smoke cloud.
A second later, the Martial Artist emerged, looking more than a little annoyed, though unharmed. The ground where he’d been standing was completely torn up, but judging by the slight sheen of brown covering his form, he was using an Armorer technique. Not that it would matter either way.
Roy could clearly see the Green-Belt at his waist and knew that his attacks would do little to damage a Martial Artist of such power. He was having a hard time understanding why so many seemed to be so powerful out here.
Back in the Shah clan, having an Orange-Belt meant you were destined for great things. Most of the elders were only 2nd or 3rd Dan Orange. But out here, everyone seemed to be at least an Orange-Belt, if not higher. More than half the group chasing them were Green-Belts, and more than one was higher than even Aika. It made no sense.
Growling, Roy held his hand out again, forming the Void Sphere in his palm. The many-layered technique twisted and swirled as it formed above his palm, locking into place and expanding. He never grew tired of seeing the technique form and he really wished he could get it to do so faster.
He hurled the attack at the leading Martial Artist again, this time aiming for the ground in front of him, rather than at the man himself. With little effort, the man plowed straight through the Sphere, shattering his technique with a glowing brown fist.
“Aika,” Roy said, now sounding very afraid.
The group was fast catching up, and he knew that Ferry wouldn’t be able to stay ahead for too much longer. Already, he could feel her beginning to flag as the Essence she used to maintain her speed began to run low.
If there was an upside to this dilemma, it was that they seemed to be losing about half the group – those at Orange. But that didn’t make him feel any better. Having six Green-Belts ranging from Base to 2nd Dan was not something to be grateful for.
Without looking back, Aika formed a trio of spears made of light, then sent them flying back into the group. It traveled faster than the eye could follow, streaking across the distance and reaching their pursuers before Aika even seemed to form them. But the Martial Artists on the receiving end were also Green-Belts.
One of them leaped forward, darkness lashing across her skin, and seemed to draw the attack in, snuffing it out completely. Then, a blast of fire roared across the distance, followed a moment later by a hail of black needles.
Ferry tried to weave around the attacks but wasn’t fast enough to avoid them all. A lance of fire burned a furrow in her side, causing her to hiss in pain. A wall of rainbow light sprang up between them and their pursuers, blocking the hail of needles. Aika retaliated, throwing a storm of Light Lances back at them. But it seemed to do little good, as the Darkness Artist drew them in once more.
Roy could see this wasn’t working, so he formed another Void Sphere and tos
sed it back, this time aiming for the base of a tree shimmering with rainbow light. His technique exploded, expanding out and shredding the base, sending it topping into their pursuer’s path and cutting them momentarily off from view.
“Hang right!” Aika yelled, and Ferry obliged, plunging into the shoulder-length grass field stretching out before them.
Roy couldn’t understand why Aika would choose to head into an area with no cover or obstacles to put between them and the enemy, but he had to trust that she knew what she was doing.
“Now stop!” she hissed, skidding to a halt and dropping to her belly.
Ferry, already exhausted, had no objections, coming to a halt and dropping to the ground.
“Why is she stopping?” Geon asked. “Did she forget we were being chased by a bunch of enemies that could crush you like a bug?”
“Aika, why did we…?” Roy began.
But Aika just reached out a hand and yanked him off Ferry’s back, clamping a hand over his mouth and shaking her head. There was little he could do. Even if he wanted to run, Aika was holding him down and she was stronger than him. With no other choice, he lay there, staring wide-eyed through the swaying and shimmering grass as the tree began to buckle and snap.
A moment later, the first Beast clan Green-Belt smashed through the fallen tree, running straight ahead. He skidded to a halt, looking confused for a few moments, then swept his gaze from right to left. His eyes alighted on their position in the swaying grass, and his brow furrowed once more. It was then that the others finally caught up to him.
“What’s going on? Why did you stop?” the female Darkness user asked.
“Look,” he replied grimly, pointing to their position.
Roy could feel his heart pounding as the girl’s eyes practically drilled into his. They were dark brown, almost black, and seemed to radiate malice. But after a moment, she, too, looked confused.
“What’s going on?” she demanded of the other man. “Where did they go?”
The man shrugged, looking once more at them in confusion. It was as though he could see them but not see them at the same time.
