I'm not even supposed to be here, he thought. The silver haired man spat as he peered over the edge of a cliff. His blood boiling at his misfortune. Rage was the only thing keeping him warm. He knew eventually there would be a dead end but he had hoped it would have been at a later date.
"This is ridiculous. It never rains like this in Terminus." he said to no one. The wind violently pushed him towards the depths below almost as though to encourage him to embrace what awaited underfoot. Shaking he took a step back as his knees grew weaker from the thought of the ground crumbling into the abyss changing his current status from escaping to early demise.
"Whoa…"
The trees around him bowed to the might of the roaring winds. Wave upon wave crashed into the cliff. He could no longer hear the shouts of his pursuers. The fury of the storm had long since drowned out their cries. Yet he stood trembling against the onslaught of the elements. Even the rain was like daggers. Exhausted, he stood solemnly only to ponder his next move. Well I could jump. Not too sure how far down that is though. From the sound of it…
Slowly he gyrated his head to the left hoping his right ear would hear what the other could not. Closing his eyes and dulling his other senses he was able to hear better. I–i–it's really deep! Maybe 300... no 400 meters down! He couldn't help but let out a chuckle even though his circumstances were dire. Even if he did survive the fall, he wouldn't be able to fight off any monsters below. Thoroughly annoyed with his situation he leaned over the drop and spoke mockingly.
"Leroy's Cradle 'Land of clear skies, hope, and justice.' I'm soooo happy to be here, this is really fantastic!" He kept his humor brief. He lacked the time for his usually whimsical attitude. He knew he needed to make a choice and fast. Does he leap off the edge forcing his hand to roll the dice against Death herself? Or should he return to the angry mob that awaited him only to plead for a chance to prove his innocence in front of a deafened mob. His pride was pushing him forward, and his will to survive kept holding him back. He sneered, "Neither!"
He had one last option; a path only a truly foolish man would take. One that would only be concocted out of pure desperation. He just needed one final push to be that desperate.
At that moment he thought of his friends and the love of his life. Looking up over the sprawling foliage and rolling hills beneath him, he took a deep breath. Counting the seconds between each flash of light and the roar of thunder. Even though his bones were chilled, he felt a fire in his soul. Not here. I won't die here, he thought to himself.
Closing his eyes he took a deep breath to help clear his mind. Only a moment was needed to sort his thoughts. However, Mother Nature cared not for his thoughts. The wind roared and the rain lashed at his body. The storm never ceased threatening to break his body and will. His senses were inadequate. Giving up would have been much easier but right now he didn't have that luxury. He needed to find a way home safely in order to keep at least one promise.
His thoughts race, I'm low on food, my blade is dulled, my body has passed its limit, pretty sure my mana… Then an epiphany struck. He never once thought about being saved. He didn't even try to ask his friends for aid. No normal person would be able to ask for help in a situation like this. No normal person would have friends willing to risk it all on a possibility that their comrade is in danger. The flame of hope grew stronger within him. He could feel the worry thawing as the cogs of his mind turned. He realized they should have arrived at Newhaven.
"That's perfect!" he whooped. He just needed to trust in his friends. Their journey together hadn't been long but at least he knew they would be quick to catch on to his act of desperation. Something obnoxious. Something grand. Something that just screams "Hey! Look at me!" he mused.
His normally pale cheeks were rosey from the torment the elements provided. If a passerby had seen him at this moment they would have said, "For a brief moment, I swear I saw him crack a smile." Right then. Hopefully I do this right!
His ploy required three conditions to be met. First he would take advantage of the overwhelming amount of origin mana around him; the mana Gaea naturally produced giving life to all things. Those of other races or trained in the art can take advantage of the plentiful bounty Gaea has to offer. If he could absorb that mana into his gate at a faster rate then let it seep out, he could utilize the mana. In theory this would make his pool of mana near infinite. However, the rate at which he'd take it in would be dangerous, possibly killing him in the process as it had killed many others for much less.
No biggie! he thought. Worst thing that can happen is that I die. Joking to himself was the only thing to help calm his nerves for what was about to come. The last time he attempted to utilize origin mana he went unconscious only to awaken three whole days later, causing his gate to be much weaker for a couple weeks.
"Right then!" he said to himself. His hair began twirling around as the mana in the air became a vortex. His crimson aura slowly started growing vicious, slamming into the mana he was trying to absorb. I know I'm scared, but I can't keep half assing this. Without a further thought he opened his gate further to increase the rate of absorption. This overwhelming velocity forced the origin mana to move around his own and into his gate. His entire body was recoiling from the sheer force. For the first time in his life he could hear the blood pumping through his veins. "Oh maaaaan this is a lot!" he cried.
The force of the mana entering his body at its current speed was enough to make the ground start to break around him. His feet were being buried. His back felt like it was going to be crushed under the force of the mana. Worst of all he couldn't breathe. Just deal with it! Only a little bit longer! His thoughts begged.
Naturally, that was a lie. He needed much more mana to succeed and the pain he was feeling only continued to grow. His head began to feel like it would explode. His aura grew more and more unstable, sending blasts of energy in random directions. Suddenly he had a realization. This isn't about power. It's about finesse. His nose began to bleed as he attempted to fine tune how he took in the mana. Letting it come in haphazardly clearly wasn't working out. Without noticing two whole minutes passed as he struggled to keep the energy in check. Little by little he began to even out. By the time he felt like he was getting the hang of it, all he could hear was a ringing in his ears as blood continued to flow down his ear lobes.
"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!"
Finally he did it. Groaning in agony, he was ready for the second condition. Unfortunately, it required every ounce of skill and knowledge he accumulated up until now. He needed to release a blast bright enough to be seen from Newhaven. Lucky for me, light magic and water magic is kinda my thing. The hard part would be creating something long lasting enough to guarantee his friends would see it. Luckily he was no stranger to getting results in a creative way. This is highly unconventional, but it should do the trick. He wished he could convince The Lord of Leroy's Cradle that everything was just a misunderstanding. I'm fucking innocent. I know people trust him, but the guy didn't even give me a chance to explain myself. His daughter is missing and her belongings were found in my room. Of fucking course they were because I know who kidnapped her. Framing me only made sense. The angry mob still looking for him out in the storm only served to justify his thought process. He couldn't wait to tell Ganon about origin magic later over a pint, and some Mabear steak. However, he had more pressing matters to attend to, like staying alive.
"It's time for a light show, citizens of Leroy's Cradle!" He proclaimed that like he was confident, but really he was terrified. As he took up his stance he knew he would only be granted one shot. Failure would mean certain death. There were several ways this could end. First failure scenario would see him passing out with no hope of being saved from the mob. The second scenario would see him dying instantly from passing his limits forcing his gate to close. In the third scenario, his plan would be a success giving him time to have Emma explain things to Lord Ignis. Finally, his resolve steeled as he started to channel mana even more, opening his gate further.
"Oh fuck!" he screeched. Every muscle in his body was screaming for him to cease his foolishness. He already had surpassed his limits multiple times getting to this point. Yet still, he asked his body for more. The strain was too great and his knees grew weak. He held his arm diagonally in the air forming an L shape with his pointer finger and thumb. Blood dripped from his eyes, as he started to see black he reached for the sky shouting.
"CALAMITY TRIGGER!"
From his finger he sent his mana screaming into the atmosphere with everything he had. Multiple Halo rings formed from his finger up past the clouds. A massive beam of light emerged from his finger piercing the heavens. The force was so great the clouds were immediately cleared from the area evicting the storm with them. There was no doubt that it was visible from Newhaven. He even thought to himself; Shit you could probably see that all the way over in G… Before he could finish his thought the sheer force from the blast blew him backwards 15 meters into a tree. After a horrible snapping sound, his right arm fell limp and his bone was clearly protruding through his forearm. The ground that once was beneath his feet was no more. Instead, it was sent tumbling into the void he once considered escaping into. Even though he was in agony he couldn't help but feel grateful.
"Whoa," he muttered in disbelief. Marveled by his own magic he watched as the clouds continued to race away from the epicenter of his spell. The once raging waves steadily fell to a soothing lull. His eyes squinted as he watched his beam continue to fly. He wondered just how long it would be visible.
Heh, I did it. As long as they can believe I did this, I won't die here. With short respite, he now waited anxiously for the third condition to hopefully be fulfilled. All he could do was wait for Ganon and Miki to do their jobs; hopefully before those who set out to take his life did theirs. His garnet eyes seemed to be gleaming as he ran his fingers through his silver hair. The terrifying energy born from his mana slowly began to give off a distinct red light.
Funny, who knew I'd be playing weatherman today? Chuckling to himself, he slowly began to fade out of consciousness. If I die here, I only have one regret. If I live, I'll be sure to fix that immediately.
The breeze seemed to dance to the hum of his creation as he drew his last breath. His body slowly grew colder until he couldn't feel it anymore. No one was there to mourn his passing except an unrecognizable figure looming over his corpse.
***
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Thank you for reading this chapter of my Light Novel "Alldust: Chronos!" you can find the full version for purchase on Amazon by searching its name or Eon Tempest. I will upload chapters of my work from time to time but I'd appreciate you supporting my work with a review! Thank you!