The two eyes slightly bulging on the head of the creature were obviously owned by a Big Eye. It was looking with curiosity and hunger at Alix like it was an exotic meal presenting itself to it.
"Ah, why is my luck suddenly so poor, I'm not even sure to have the strength to continue climbing, I'm sure as hell I don't have any to fight a Big Eyes on a vertical cliff!"
Seeing the distress expression on its prey and its apparent difficulty to remove one of his limbs from the wall to defend itself, the Big Eyes naturally choose to attack. Two claws embedded in the wall were preventing it from falling, the others were used to slash at Alix.
"CLANG"
The claws bounced on the hard skin of Alix, not a scratch visible. The claws had even sign of cracks on it, unable to be used more than four or five times more. The Big Eyes, startled and a little fearful stepped back looking at Alix with wary eyes. Clearly, it understood it was not a prey as easier as it expected.
"Who would have thought my skin would be so hard? I didn't even feel the strength behind the blow, my body has still such a fearful defense when it's at it worst! This trip was really a good fortune, even if I wouldn't do it again if given a choice..."
Eyes shining, his mouth smirking a little, grimacing in pain because of his sore muscle at the same time, Alix was pretty pleased, sure that he would really become the genius he always thought he was.
The Big Eyes tried again, this time with its teeth achieving the same result. Its jaws were aching, retreating for good this time, it was with eyes full of resentment it glares the for last time in the direction of Alix.
"Hehehe, good good, that's so refreshing to know they can't do anything to me either ! I would have loved to eat it but it flees too quickly, such a shame, should I tried to follow it...? No, it would be difficult, it was faster than me on this vertical surface, I should continue to climb!"
The day passed with a few time Big Eyes coming to visit him, trying to slash him. Fortunately, he succeeds in killing one, eating it in a small cavity he dug in a hurry. His body automatically absorbed it as if it was just a little snack. It was clearly not enough but a little rest was welcome.
" I should barely be able to continue up to the surface... These Big Eyes that lived on the wall are not as nourishing as the ones at the bottom. Their concentration of life force was nearly non-existent. Fortunately, I did manage to catch one or I would have fainted probably tomorrow, even possibly this evening..."
Alix had tilted his head, looking upwards and letting small drops of rains slide on his face. It was raining more and more in the canyon, a sign telling of the force of the tempest outside or of him nearing to the edge of the cliff, or perhaps both.
"Such a wonderful feeling, I had forgotten what it feels like to have just this little pleasure, feeling the elements with my body, a testimony of being alive! This trip in these depths nearly made me mad, or actually succeed in doing it a little... But I'm alive, that what is important for me..."
As the fourth day was beginning, Alix's mind turned more sluggish, focusing on climbing, forgetting other miscellaneous things, his mind cleared of any other thoughts. He was climbing automatically, little by little without feeling his non-stop trembling nor his terrible hunger. The rain that didn't stop falling hydrates him a little when it entered his mouth.
At the beginning of the fifth day, the canyon became bright as day for him even if he didn't really realize it. It was actually quite dark with the terrible rainstorm happening above. Sometimes powerful lights would illuminate the canyon, signs of thunder exploding in the sky, powerful sound waves echoing in his eardrums despite being it still far away.
Hope was beating fast in his Heart, he would soon be out, breathing fresh air, the wind on his face, food everywhere. Few thoughts appear in his mind, making him increase again his pace in the last effort to come on the surface. His body was now terribly weak the clear feeling of water streaming on his entire body, soaking him entirely was definitely an exhilarating feeling.
In a final spurt, he climbs up for most of the day, succeeding in seeing the end of the cliff. A few hours later he was just a meter away from being out. Exiting this terrible cliff, being at the edge of it, he collapses on the floor, finally on the surface. The rain was falling hard, thunder exploding above in the sky, illuminating the deserted landscape surrounding the Never Canyon.
Alix, laying down in a puddle of water was breathing erratically, water entering his mouth making him cough. Awakened a little by it, he tried to get up, not wanting to rest right at the edge of the canyon.
"Must...Not...Stay here... I should walk far...Away...There isn't...Any food...Here"
With great difficulty, he began to walk under the rain falling as if wishing to destroy what lay on the earth. Small streams had already began to form, carving the soil, taking away with it small rocks and little trees, transforming slowly in a mudslide falling down the canyon.
Fortunately, Alix was out of it before it began to happen or it would have probably ring the end of his luck. He was trying to dodge these little landslides, the environment not stable enough in this tempest. He was wandering, not knowing where he was going, his sole though to escape from this terrible land.
Hours passed under the heavy rain, wrapping his already weakened body in a cold chill, his mind starting to ramble, his thought not clear, just united in one fixated idea, to walk.
The night was pretty advanced when the last strength of his body disappeared, making him collapsed on forest soil. He was instinctively lured by a small light glistening in the dark like massive sunlight for the sensitive eyes he had. Regretfully he couldn't make it, his mind already in a near-comatose state when he approaches the outskirt of the forest.
His face against wet pine needles he falls asleep, his last thought wanting to continue to walk, to escape from this canyon.
Unknown to him, he was already far from it, having cross literally a village territory over the night. He was just outside the Aka region. Indeed the Never Canyon crossed this Region from one way to another, with nine villages from one side, eleven from the other.
By escaping in a diagonal path, he crossed other the Kollow village territory, leaving it in its back and arriving at the beginning of the mountain wilderness, slowly entering another death trap. The forest covering the wilderness was nest to numerous dangerous beast and creatures from which the villages were isolated by Art formation, testimony to the threat living here.
__________
The rain was falling since a week ago without a stop, in the Tellama forest. Méline was resting before the chimney fire, her hands stretched, to warm them, loving the feeling of being inside a warm home while the rain was hitting the window in a "tic tic tic" noise. She had a warm cup of hot water mixing with lime tree leaves, enforcing this marvelous feeling.
Her brother Lor was in the same room, writings who knows what on lots of pieces of papers, his chair in equilibrium with his knees under the desk stabilizing his position, a fountain pen in his mouth, thoughtful.
You could hear the noise of their father's hammer echoing in the distance, the forge never really turning off even with the tempest. He was probably making the new scythe he spoke of earlier, never resting like always.
"Come, dinner is served, Lor, go fetch your father, he must be famished even if all he does is hitting metal with metal. Tell him to stay with us a bit longer this time, it's not as if he would deliver his order anytime soon with this weather..."
Their mother appears in the leaving room, a hot plate in her hand. She walks with a graceful gait to put it on the table. She was well in her forty, a natural motherly charm emanating from her, waiting for her family to share their meal.
Soon a wet muscled man with a brown beard appears at the door, thunder lighting him up from the rear as if in a horror story.
"Ahahah, I was starting to wonder when I could at least eat with you without worrying. Don't worry dear, I finished my order so the next days will be for you all !"
With a thunderous voice, he advanced while laughing in the room, ready to sit down.
"Hup hup hup, your shoes! Remove your dirty shoes from my clean floor, I don't want mud all other the place! And it's good for you to have finished your order if not I would have taken you by force to be with us"
With a kind of playfully angry tone, she rebuked her husband that was already starting to remove his shoes with one hand on a fork, ready to eat. Méline left her comfortable couch, closing the book she was reading previously and joining with her family.
- "Dad, How come I can't feel the world energy that you spoke of? It's been a year and when I tried each morning, nothing comes up..."
- "Don't worry Mel, It's not something that can be rushed, it will come soon enough and when you began to travel the Abraxas path, you will understand that foundation is the key to everything!"
- "I heard Terk, the son of Tellama village mayor is already at the Gaseous level, and he isn't even sixteen yet. She is now fourteen, she won't be able to catch up with a late beginning." Interject her brother, a condescending tone in his voice
- "Shut up, you know nothing, he won't be able to continue his path for much longer with a forceful breakthrough at ten years old! Our Mel will surpass him like you already did ! You waited until thirteen to Evaporate your energy, and you are already at the late Gaseous level, can't you see that?"
- "Well it's obviously because I'm a genius hehehe"
- "I see our little Lor had developed a good sense of humor during your training at the village's school..." her mother shamefully downgrading her own son with a little mischievous smile.
- "Mum..you can't say it that way uh..."
-"Hehe, stop talking, you know you are our little genius but your sister isn't worse than you, so start to eat, as for me I will take another portion..."
Like this, the meal continued until late at night. The whole family then started to prepare for the night, Erik, the father had to tidy up the forge, letting the fire stove extinguished itself. Cilis, the mother was busy storing the meal for tomorrow morning, the rain lasting for days could indeed easily spoil the food.
Méline, a little stressed about her talent didn't go to sleep, resting on the couch before the fire, trying to feel her surroundings. The hours passed, the morning was not too far, the fire had died since three in the morning, the rain continuing to pour on the tiles of the house. The air smelling like smoke was calm, at mild temperature when a small vibration disturbs it.
A small vortex appears in it where the opening of the house where situated, clearly felt by Meline who was concentrating on her environment.
"What is this?"
A low noise could be heard, like the noise of an animal breathing heavily. Méline gets up, trying to look through the window, unable to see a thing on the black rainy night. Hearing more clearly this time a loud "thud" as if something falling, she decided to see what it could be.
Dressed up in a thick waterproof coat, with an umbrella in a hand and a knife in the other she went out, arduously grabbing a small torch with the hand wrapping the knife, in the direction of the noise. Arriving at the outskirt of the forest, she could see an immobile form laying on the wet soil.
It appeared nearly dead, its bare skin black like the night even in the obscurity. Lighting up its face she saw it was still weakly breathing. It was a strange creature resembling a man with sharp hands, long disheveled hair at the shoulder, muscles bulging under the black skin like a ferocious creature.
"Oow, poor thing! You must be exhausted!!"
Méline had always been weird in her definition of cute creatures, leaving it resting in the mud, she quickly got back in running to her house, nearly tripping on the way.