'Swish'
'Whoosh'
'Shriek'
Beibei, Nanate and Kunwa were running as fast as their feet could carry. As soon as the sphere had erupted, they had zoomed in on to the space where the black miasma seemed the least, and rushed out like vibrating lightning balls, scared that even a little less speed might allow the miasma to close in on them.
While the smaller chests were filled with stone and bone slips containing innumerable manuals and scripts recording various techniques, skills and methods of cultivation, the medium sized chests had been stuffed to the brim with ores, spirit stones, Balaik Runic Stones, Mythirin stones, Rakumare Beads, different ores, and a very large variety of precious, semi-precious, common, rare and divine herbs, flowers and plants in their dried form. The very large chests on the other hand were filled with weapons, armors, ready-to-use arrays and a variety of different tools.
Since the Stryae Family had been fending off the black miasma for a very long time, a large number of their tools were made to fend off the black miasma.
Like the golden lightening and silver light beads they were currently scattering out like fistful of sand. Lightning and light was apparently a good defense against the black miasma. Though it could not destroy the miasma, it could still burn and destroy some of it. Thus the miasma seemed to be wary of these elements, and wherever these beads exploded, the miasma would disperse, thus making way for them.
Not only had they lost track of how long they had been running, they had even lost the direction where the portal back to the soundless valley lay.
The creatures of the dark never came near them, but throughout the time they were running, they could feel these formless creatures rushing past them, just out of their scope of vision. And there seemed to be too many to count.
The black miasma did not attack the people, unlike the other demonic beasts and even shadow beasts. It attacked the soul. It would slowly seep into a person's body, and before they could figure out that they had been infected, the miasma would have already started taking over the nervous system, gradually entering into their brains. Once they took over the command center of the body, the person turned into a state of mindless puppet, completely governed by the consciousness of the black miasma.
But it didn't end here. The miasma's real target was the soul. It would keep the body working endless, slowly corroding the entire physical body. And in such a tired state, it would then take over the soul of the person. Very soon the physical body would be completely discarded, leaving only a corroded and corrupted soul body.
This was what remained of all the people of the Stryae family. All these black formless creatures were once the members of a large and distinguished clan. Now only their essence remained, shackled by the controlling consciousness of the miasma.
And even this essence was slowly being swallowed by the core of the miasma, and one day nothing would remain. Even as they ran past these flying creatures, they couldn't control the shudders which ran through their body at the mere thought that if they did not manage to escape this miasma today, they too would one day turn into these black formless creatures of the dark!
"Is that light ahead?"
For the past uncountable hours, the three had been popping the Slimy Barrier Membrane pills like candies, and were already running short. The miasma was growing denser and denser the more they progressed. And even through the spirit trackers, they had lost track of each other at least twice. If this continued, they would get separated for good.
Thus in such a situation, Nanate's words were like a healing spring flowing all over their body. The trio paused in their steps, trying to make out where the light lay.
"I think I saw some light in that direction. It was only for a second, but I am sure of it."
Beibei nodded. They had no choice but to take the risk, so there was no point in hesitating.
"Lead the way then. Keep very close. The fog is more dense in that direction."
The previous Exploding Needles and other tools were pretty much useless since the black miasma here was far more denser, and also too wide spread to make any effect.
Beibei had tried creating the Frozen Flame of Annihilation, and nearly dropped into a dead faint. The amount of spirit power and mental power required for creating this technique and then controlling it was beyond her current comprehension. She did not know how she had managed to do it the first time, but then she did not clearly remember much about her entire fight with the last creature of the dark in Visionless Path.
She had a nagging feeling that though it had been her body and energy which had been fighting, somehow it was not her who had been in control the entire time.
Nanate was worried even as he lead the team towards the light. What if it was a trap deliberately placed by the black miasma. He couldn't help cursing himself. He should have led the team back to the portal. Instead he got themselves lost in the haze of the miasma, and now they had no idea where they were running. All directions looked the same inside the miasma fog.
The more they ran in the specific direction, even Beibei and Kunwa could see the light of day reflecting through the heavy curtains of dark miasma surrounding them. The light would shine through intermittently.
And like a flash of flame, they were out of the black miasma covering, fully escaping into the bright light shining from the sky all around.
The trio barely had time to heave a sigh of relief, still panting from the exhaustion of the past uncountable hours. They had no idea how long they had spent trapped within the layers of black miasma....was it hours or was it days?
"Why is the miasma not entering this space?"
Kunwa was staring around the area, his hands resting on his knees, as he bent down, breathing hard and unsteadily. Even Beibei could feel her limbs trembling slightly from the continuous running and fighting. Nanate looked the most calm and steady, though even his breathing was uneven and heavy. He looked around curiously.
The black miasma had entirely surrounded the place, giving them a large enough area to rest and breathe freely. But something seemed to be keeping them off. As they watched, another part of the black foggy curtain parted, and sounds penetrated in through the space.
As they watched disbelievingly, a large group of people slowly shuffled in through the path created through the miasma. Most of the people looked like commoners. Some were old and some were young, while a lot of them looked sick or disabled. Even some cultivators could be seen mixed in with the lot.
"This...What is going on? Why are there commoners in the middle of this miasma?"
Kunwa was starting to feel agitated all over again. In fact, all three could feel their anxiety rising at this sudden unforeseen situation. Even looking on as more and more people slowly entered, walking around listlessly, looking like they had no idea what they were supposed to be doing here, the three had a foreboding that something was wrong.....something even more wrong was about to take place.
Nanate frowned, then quickly moved from his place, trying to take a look around the empty space before the incoming people filled it up. He took a half round, then turned back and rushed towards them.
"This....this place is filled with a lot of strange stones and Balaik Runic Stones. They seem to have been placed in some weird and complicated pattern of an inscription. This entire place is filled with runes."
Beibei frowned deeply, while Kunwa also swiftly ran out to take a look. Beibei had a thought, and she shivered at her own thought.
"Nanate, check the map. How far is the Ancient Sand Runes from the Soundless Valley?"
Nanate paused in his actions, staring at her in disbelief. It took him a while to bring out and open the map, and both of them poured over it.
"Do you think...that this is related to the sacrifice mentioned in those old records?"
Kunwa, who had just returned from his run, was startled at his words. He looked around once more, and seemed to realize the danger they were trapped in.
"Didn't it say that the people brought here were sacrificed to the black miasma? Do you think the runes over here control the black miasma?"
"I think we are going to have all our answers very soon."
Beibei motioned behind him. As Kunwa and Nanate turned their heads, one by one the runes lit up. Golden, Red, Blue and Silver light emitted from the different runes, slowly rose up in to the air, creating arc lines in the sky, passing from one rune to the other.
The lines crisscrossed over the area, sparkling brightly even under the bright sky. As the last arc joined with the last rune, the light started moving, like a flowing stream of color, from rune to rune.
"Don't look at them directly! The light has some mind controlling property."
Nanate and Kunwa looked askance. How were they supposed to stay alert if they closed their eyes. They did not have the spiritual sensory perceptions which Beibei had.
"Use the pill for Insect Eyes. If your pupils are separated, the light will not be able to target your senses directly. It will still make you dizzy, but it will not be able to control your mind."
Beibei also took out a an orange colored bead from her storage space. The spirit of the sphere, Gayea, now their new Master, had passed some of these beads to her before the sphere self-destructed. These beads could insert themselves into the mind of a person, and restrict all other controlling energies from entering the mind space.
Of course in return, the person would suffer from a dull and prolonged headache, but that was nothing compared to the pain of being controlled by the miasma.
"Here, swallow this. You will suffer from some headache, just bear with it."
As the strings of runic lights speeded up, the space around them looked like a colored cage. Gradually, a dark hole shaped portal opened up on the ground, at the center of the area.
Dark, black miasma slowly poured out through the portal, rolling eagerly over the barren ground, spreading around the place like hungry, insatiable beasts.
The three looked at each other as they pumped pill upon pill through their throat - pills to refresh their body, pill to replenish spiritual energy, pill to for speed and agility. This was going to be a long and hard battle. And none of them knew if they would come out of it alive.