(A/N: Sorry for another long ass chapter! This one was supposed to be 6k words. I wrote this in like 4 hours today! I was kinda writing another ff for a while now and got carried away! Wrote it in my phone so there might be some mistakes/ errors. Don't mind em. To make the chapter short, I divided this into 2 parts. (3k each). I'll be uploading the next one later or some. Cheers!
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Arthur POV:
Teleporting out of the cave structure, we reappeared at the entrance of the tunnel opening. The scene was in chaos.
Dust and debris filled the surroundings, blocking a clear view of the surface on top. Series of loud screeching noises echoed throughout the chasm, making the scene look eerie.
Before I could get a hold of the current situation, the dust in front of us cleared only for a familiar looking six-legged creature racing towards us. My senses screamed at me to get out of the creature's way.
My eyes were drawn to the creature's, which looked almost... out of focus and- heedless. I felt Caera tug my sleeves, breaking me out of my stupor.
Hurriedly, I teleported us out of the creature's way. We reappeared a few meters away, on top of a newly fallen debris. It took a few minutes for the area around us to clear off the dust for us to see the extent of the situation. What I saw put me in a daze.
A horde of six-legged creatures of all sizes were running around in the base of the chasm. And even more crawling and falling out from the surface on top.
Many senseless creatures were banging their heads against the rocky walls, continuously without minding about pain and blood sputtering out of their skulls.
Screeching and banging noises were continually reverberating throughout the entire surroundings, not giving a moment of respite for our ears.
'What the heck is wrong with these creatures?', my mind puzzled.
As the chasm shook, chunks of rocks started to fall off from the rocky walls, bringing down the shining aether crystals with them.
'They're trying to get the crystals from the wall surfaces' I thought.
The whole scene was a chaos. As stronger creatures tried to stomp on the weaker ones trying to grab the falling crystals. While some smaller sized creatures tried to steal the crystals from the larger ones, only to be crushed to death by the falling rocks.
Sound of Caera coughing made my attention turn towards her. I noticed the dust settling all around us, making it harder for us to breath.
'Uh Arthur, let's just get out here. Before the monsters try to lop off your aether core for their evening snacks', Regis commented leisurely.
Agreeing with my companion, and not wanting to stay here in this hellhole any longer, I grabbed Caera and pulled her closer, before teleporting out of the chasm.
The scene in the surface wasn't any better. Multiple hordes of beasts and creatures were fighting each other. Many seemed to be aiming for the purple crystals, while some were just fighting senselessly, without any care for their own survival.
'Damn it. Where are we gonna go next? I'd say we get of out of the portal... but there's no sign of it', Regis said.
'Thanks for stating the obvious, Regis. Now shut the hell up so I can come up with a plan' I retorted.
"Grey, should we walk in that way?", Caera said pointing towards a certain direction.
At first I thought she was just choosing a direction to walk in. But I soon noticed that there were no horde of beasts and creatures fighting in that region; while the rest of the rock surface was filled with countless number of them.
'Yeah, that doesn't seem ominous at all. Go for the direction even the mindless monsters won't choose to go. Good choice... Have you even watched horror movies?!' Regis shouted in my head.
'Tch! Regis stop shouting' I said before pushing him out of my body, making him fall head first on the rocky ground . "If you want to have my aether, go find the portal" I said out loud to my companion.
"First of all, RUDE! And secondly, just where the hell am I gonna find the damn portal? I'm stuck just as much as you lot are!" Regis snarled.
I let out a sigh. Feeling the guilt for treating the shadow wolf badly, and tinge of annoyance from the 'situation' we were in, I spoke in a plain tone "The portal must be atleast a few days off from here. Otherwise we would have noticed some traces of it. We're at the highest elevation point, as you can see the surroundings clearly stretching far off from here, on all the sides. We'll take the direction Caera pointed us to, because I don't want to fight off those mindless beasts. I need to have my aether reserves at a considerable state, for any dire situations"
Gesturing both the shadow wolf and Caera to walk with me, we set off on the only direction free of any creatures.
***
We walked for two days straight. Only resting at night. The land was still barren; and earth and wind mana were chaotic at that particular time.
Maybe the sky and the ground are affecting the ambient mana particles in the region, I thought.
I used God Step to take us further. Recharging only when the reserves ran less then 5%, hoping that it would be enough to fend off any surprise attacks from the creatures.
I had started using the 'aether crystals' that Regis had 'procured' for me. Making the time interval between recharging much lesser.
Although we did not see many creatures along our way. Except for few crawlers pacing around at night. Probably hunting for small preys.
I had dug hole in the ground and made a small tunnel large enough for two adults to stay in. Our rest usually took about couple of hours, just enough for me to recharge and Caera to sleep.
During our second afternoon, we saw a change in the nature of the land. Patches of lush green grass sprouted across the surface, making the ground more suitable for other vegetation.
"Let's walk for a hour and camp. That should be enough for us to stay in the surface at nights" I said, before grabbing Caera and teleporting further.
We reached an area covered with tall grass and few plants. The 'plant cover' helped in guarding the lower part of the ground from any harsh winds.
Thick cover of trees started from that region a few hundred meters farther away. ' A forest', I thought looking at the change of scenery. 'It'll be hard to God-Step with many interferences'
"Okay, this should do, right?" Caera said, noticing that my face had gotten paler due to the continuous use of my god rune. I let out a deep breath before nodding at her words.
I sat down after finding an even ground. And took out few aether crystals to absorb. Minutes passed, as my body's reserves started rising to half its size. I kept going until I felt some movement near me.
Opening my eyes I saw Caera, standing with her blade out. My eyes opened wide as I turned my head right and left to see what had caused her to take out her weapon. 'I don't sense any beasts near by. Maybe it's mana beasts?' I thought as I slowly stood up and walked towards Caera.
Caera had noticed my arrival and slightly tilted her head, looking at me from the corner of her eyes. She was focused on the front, where a small crawler was burrowing down the earth, around 4 meters away from our position, probably looking for some food.
I looked at Caera in confusion. She understood my reaction and slightly bent her body towards me and whispered softly. "I'm trying to hunt. We don't know how much longer we are gonna have to stay here. Besides my food stash had already emptied." She said and sighed while shrugging her shoulders. "Wait here, Grey, I'll be back!"
Caera leapt forward trying to pounce on the creature. But before she could move away, I quickly grabbed her waists with my hands, stopping her from going after the creature.
Caera yelped in surprise at my sudden actions. Her eyes darted back to me and to her 'prey', which had by now noticed our presence and ran away from our sight.
Caera sighed a little looking at that scene and turned back to face me. Her gaze lowered from time to time, settling on my hands which were grabbing her waists.
"Um, what is it?" She asked in confusion, unmoving from her position. I lifted my hands back, releasing her. Her face went impassive when I didn't answer her.
I activated my extra dimensional storage rune as a big packet of dried meat appeared on my hands. Suddenly filling the area with the aroma coming from the meat.
Caera's gaze shifted to the meat packet as her eyes widened and face lit up. "Y-you....w-why?..." Caera stuttered. Her face slightly frowning and confused. After a few moments she spoke "Why are you even carrying this much food, Grey? Have you suddenly started craving for meat? You don't even eat!"
I looked at her with my usual impassive face; without moving my hand that was holding the dried ration of meat.
She looked at me curiously, and I could see the gears inside her head. Suddenly Caera let out a small chuckle before shaking her head. "So, is this perhaps for me? If I didn't now any better I'd say that you're carrying this for me." She said in a teasing tone, her lips smirking.
I rubbed the back of my neck unconsciously at her words. "Well, this is awkward! Let's see you getting out of this one hahaha" Regis chortled.
"I,... w-well...let's just cook it a little and eat" I said hastily.
"But I don't have any matc-" she stopped as I took out a matchstick and stone pan.
We gathered some dried leaves and grass and made a small flame. Caera and I sat opposite to each other as we started barbecuing the meat.
The aroma of meat filled the entire area. I heard Caera's stomach churn, which made me let out a chuckle. Caera's body stiffened and face turned bright red as she glared at me. She lifted her finger towards me and opened her mouth, but before she could start, another stomach churning came but this time it was from me.
Caera froze at that and her face broke into a fit of laughter, filling the entire area in her melodic tone. I rubbed the back my neck with embarrassment and lowered my gaze to take the meat and eat it.
We ate in silence, both of us taking quick glances at each other now and then. The atmosphere felt awkward, to say the least.
Regis took that moment to come out of my body. "Oh am I bothering your date? Should I perhaps leave you two lovebirds. And come back in the morning?" Regis amused as he let out a bark of laughter.
"Oh please! Has Grey ever even -went on a... date?" Caera asked with a tinge of hesitation. Her eyes darted from Regis to me, before looking down at the fire that was dancing.
"Oh you'd be amazed, bwahahaha... princess here is a lady magnet. You should've seen all the ladies floc-" Regis voice was cut off by the sudden pressure that I let out focusing on him. I glared at the shadow wolf, daring him to say one more word.
My eyes turned to Caera who had her mouth hung open, still staring at the shadow wolf. Her face showed disbelief. She didn't even notice what I did, I thought.
Silence surrounded the area once again, with all of us immersed in our thoughts. Everything about this small fire and food- made me feel nostalgic as my mind went back to my adventuring days with Jasmine, when we used to camp every night.
'Good ol' days' I thought. My lips curving up unknowingly. Caera had noticed my reaction, before she spoke up. "Oh what's gotten you all smiley?" She said with laughter in her tone.
I lifted my head and looked at her. Her face oozing curiosity, making her ruby eyes shine like red hot flames against the fire's reflection. It made me feel warm, just looking at her calm yet fiery eyes.
I let a sigh before I spoke. "It's- just- that, I was remembered of my old days...when I used to go to the beas- ahem...I mean to the forest- and hunt mana beasts with- a friend." My eyes fixed on the fire while my mind raced through all the memories I had made with Jasmine.
"You're continually surprising me, Grey. It's still surprising me to think that you have other- friends..." Caera said. Her voice barely a whisper. I lifted my head to see Caera, her gaze fixed on the fire. She suddenly looked back at me, her eyes full of expectations. Almost waiting curiously to hear my tales, like a child.
I wanted to tell her more. But I felt an invisible knot around my throat, choking me and keeping me from speaking any more. 'Maybe it is because the things have changed for the worse? Maybe I just don't want to live in the past anymore?' I was confused with myself.
When I didn't answer, Caera's voice came. "I don't understand." She shook her head in frustration. She kept her gaze down at the ground as she continued. "I guess you still don't trust me enough".
I felt my mouth go dry and unable to answer Caera. I watched Caera standing up and turn away "Grey, we should leave."
Is she mad at me right now? Or- just disappointed?...
This is something I've never seen Caera do before. I felt a bit annoyed. I didn't know why. I felt annoyed by my own actions...
Caera had always been trustworthy; besides the time she had lied about her identity and stalked me. We had grown much closer... Closer than I would've expected myself to be with anyone, after I woke up in the enemy's continent. My mind swirled through waves of emotions as I felt conflicted by my recent actions towards Caera.
It felt as if I keep going backwards! Everything that had happened between us lately has been a surprise. A welcome surprise, if I'm being honest... I had finally felt like myself. Albeit not entirely, but much better than how I was, before spending time with Caera. I understood that she has obviously influenced my-'
I was snapped out of my thoughts by a scream. I stood up in haste and spun around; only to see Regis pinning down a crawler and biting down its throat.
"Regis- stop acting like a rabid dog. And come back" I snapped at him as I didn't need any unwanted attention in the wilderness.
"Hey, I was just bored. Besides the environment was too awkward for me to relax. So I had to let loose some pressure" Regis grinned mockingly.
"Well, you can le-" my voice trailed off when a loud roar reverberated from the forest. Turning my head to the forest enclosure, I saw a 10 foot crawler ran out of the woods towards the direction we were in.
'AH SHIT!' I yelled in my head. Knowing that the stench of blood and meat would've attracted the creature. Caera dnd I looked and nodded each other as we got to position to fight.
I ran towards the creature with full speed wanting to disrupt its momentum. Promptly god-stepping to the creature's side as it tried to use its claw like mouth to cut my body in half.
I punched the creature's head which made it turn in surprise due to my sudden attack. The creature arched up its front legs as it tried to dig its claws on my flesh.
God-stepping again, this time on top of the creature, my hands formed two daggers which I dig deep inside the creature's back.
Using this brief respite, I slid down to the creature's side and clawed off one of its hind legs, making the creature let out a shrill in pain.
"GREY! Look!", I heard Caera's voice shouting from the distance. Following her gaze, I looked at the forest enclosure.
Something was off. The trees of the forest shook, making small mana beasts to fly off in panic, while the ground shook within a few moment.
Focusing on the depths of the forest, I saw many silhouettes moving in between the tree trunks. The creature pinned down under my hands took this moment to free itself from my aetheral claws.
I thought it would try to attack me, but the creature took flight and ran off to the distance without turning back.
"Uh- Grey- I think we should run!", Regis said nervously.
My gaze turned back to focus on the dark silhouettes; it didn't take long before they revealed themselves.
Countless groups of beasts, of different kinds and sizes were running out of the forest, towards the clearing... towards us!
"Grey!", hearing Caera's stern voice, I took a glance at her figure. She stood with her sword in hand, facing the beasts. I had to think through our next step.
'We can't just run back after travelling for two days! Let's try and fight through our way' I thought, before saying out loud "Get ready to fight"
Regis, Caera and I took our positions facing the beasts. When the first line of beasts neared us, I let out a series of aether blasts at the ground beneath the beasts, trying to put them off and stop as much as I can from our way.
Not waiting to see if it had worked, I shot through the incoming horde. Manifesting aether claws on both hands, I jutted them out to tear off as much flesh as I could. Soon enough, the beasts started ignoring me as they ran away from me.
'Ah Arthur, I don't they are running away from you... they are running from something inside the forest, whatever that is...' Regis commented.
Heeding his words, I stopped on my tracks. Waiting to see if any beast would attack me if I didn't use my claws... but, they didn't.
'Regis was right', I thought. These creatures aren't trying to attack us. No. They looked scared and horrified; trying to run away from the forest as soon as possible.
I turned around to see Caera doing the same. Her face looked confused when the creature's simply avoided her presence as they ran away.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I god-stepped near Caera. "G-Grey!"
Startling Caera, I grabbed her and teleported us deep into the forest. After a few rounds of teleportations, the forest floor cleared off of any running beasts, as the silence enveloped the setting.
We silently took a glance at each other before agreeing to walk forward. 'Whatever's inside the forest has made all these creatures run away in fear', my mind thought, trying to figure out just what it could be.