Arms outstretched, Zeke focused as hard as he could to force out what energy he still had. He didnt have much time, maybe a couple dozen seconds at most to try and get a stable flow before this thing impacted him, but it was proving far more difficult than he had imagined it would. Electricity crackled around his arms and danced around him until a dull yellow dome sparked into existence. It shimmered and shifted as it settled but it was clearly unstable despite managing to take shape. Worse yet, Zeke could feel what little strength he had mustered being siphoned away from him at an alarming rate.
"Damn it all, do I really have almost nothing left? It's taking everything I have to just make a simple barrier?! This has got to be a damn joke!"
Portions of the barrier shattered and fell apart before reforming almost as soon as they broke. Zeke scowled and through clenched teeth cursed his lack of rest.
"I doubt this will even make any difference when that impacts! If I'm going to do this I need more!"
Again Zeke focused and this time pushed himself to the point that he felt like he'd drop over at any moment. In response, the barrier stabilized and the dull yellow began to brighten as more energy poured out around him.
"Give me more body! Come on damn it! You can rest later, I NEED this! I'm not dying here!"
Sheer rage and stubbornness pushed him forwards as he dug for more and more strength. It felt like he was digging at an empty well but his anger wouldn't allow him to stop.
"I. SAID. MORE!" he roared.
"COME. O- AUGHHH!"
The energy around him dissipated entirely and the barrier shattered down around him, fading out of existence.
Zeke fell to his knees, clutching his heart from the sudden pain that had gripped him. It felt like a piece of his insides had viciously and suddenly been grabbed and twisted in an attempt to pull it outside of himself.
"What... the heck..."
His vision began to blur but the pain was unbearable to the point that he couldn't pass out. He could hardly breathe at all as every breath made his insides burn.
"What... happened? Did... I crack... the first layer... of my soul?"
There was no time. The roaring in the sky had reached a point where he couldn't hear himself speak. In a few seconds the ball of flaming death would slam into him.
"I have... no time."
Zeke steadied himself and rose up as best he could. Shielding himself with his arms, he braced for the inevitable impact.
A few moments later a blast erupted on the mountainside as the meteor slammed down.
Zeke, however, was unexpectedly thrown forward into the gently sloping hillside he had just come down a minute or two ago. The ball of flames had landed a few yards directly behind him. Tumbling headlong back up the grass, Zeke couldn't feel anything as the pain in his chest eclipsed it all and his body was falling into numbness.
The rattling from the blast slowly subsided as he came to lay on his stomach. Somehow, he had ended up turned around again and was now facing the direction where the meteor had landed. Though his eyelids were heavy, Zeke managed to partially pull them open and see the results of the explosion.
Surprisingly though, the crash site was far smaller than he had anticipated. While the meteor had been enormous, the crater it left was maybe 20 ft wide in diameter at best. Small flames dotted the outer edge but the immediate area encompassing it wasn't badly singed or burned to a crisp.
Zeke pondered how this was possible for a moment. Then, in pure disgust, threw the thought of what had just happened out of his mind. He was alive. His bruises had even more bruises and he was certain that older cuts and wounds had opened up and started bleeding again but he was alive. Wordlessly, he began to very very slowly push himself to his feet. He knew soldiers would be here soon. There was no way they hadn't seen that impact. At the forests edge, Zeke figured he'd been lucky as he was fairly certain a lot of distance he been put between him and his pursuers. He had left multiple false trails and made it seem as though he had been heading for a different gate that had been closer than the one in front of him. Despite their tracking experience, Zeke had spent far more time outdoors than the average soldier had and in worse conditions. He probably could've stayed in that forest for another few hours if he'd wanted but at the same time he knew he risked being found by the most experienced member of the group pursuing him. That spelled certain death. The sooner he ran, the better. He staggered as his hands left the ground but he managed to keep himself upright. Then, ever so slowly, one foot began to move in front of the other. At this point, he didnt care. Just getting to the gate at the top of that mountain meant freedom. If he set foot in the fort, by Sal's law there was nothing that could be done and nobody broke those unless they wanted instantly vaporized. Technically, he shouldnt be being pursued as it was but that hadn't stopped them yet. His legs were numb so every slow step was a guess as to whether he'd come crashing down to meet the ground but somehow he remained upright. It took him a short while but he managed to climb the hill and approach the crater as it was directly in his path up the moutain.
Zeke had no intention of dropping down into it but he was curious as to what landed. So, as he approached the shallow pits rim he looked down in.
The smoke had mostly cleared but as he edged by, his brow furrowed.
"Is that... No way. Is that a person in the center?" He whispered to himself as he focused on the now visible figure.
He stopped and leaned in to get a better look as the smoke slowly continued to fade. Sure enough, what appeared to be a silhouette was steadily coming more and more clearly into view. They seemed a little small but from the distance he was at, Zeke really couldn't tell what exactly he was looking at. He was unwilling to go down and get a better look due to his current lack of strength. That and not knowing who it was, he needed to be cautious. Right now, there was very little he could do aside from maybe shamble away if things went south. Drawing his sword and fighting was also out of the question since he figured he probably couldn't even unsheath it. He decided that not drawing attention was the best course of action and simply kept moving forward hoping to not be seen or acknowledged.
Slowly, but silently, he made his way around the edge of the crater. Another few minutes passed by and when he was on the other sighed he breathed a heavy sigh of relief and looked forward. As he began to move, he perked his ears up as a rock shifted behind him and fell down into the crater. He whipped around, sure he had heard someone coming but saw no sign of anyone. The figure that had been sitting in the center was gone however. Zeke's eyes narrowed and he listened. There wasnt really anything he could do if someone was approaching him now but he still didn't want to be caught off guard. Time was precious as it was but he waited. A minute passed without another sound aside from the wind and crackling of the small fires that dotted the pit. He let out a breath and relaxed. He couldn't sense anyone's presence or any eyes on him so for now he decided to assume whoever it was either wasnt interested or didnt see him. He turned back to the face the moutain path in front of him and froze. Directly in front of him stood someone.
Someone about 3 feet tall. It was pure luck that he had caught the top of their head in his peripherals when he turned because otherwise he wouldve taken a step and bumped into them.
Zeke looked down in bewilderment at the large eyes staring up at him.
"Um... hi?"
No answer.
Zeke stopped down and got eye level with the child.
She was a girl dressed in what appeared to be a purple kimono with red accents and a red sash. The shoulders of the kimono were open, showing her shoulders and she was wearing small geta on her feet. Her hair was a light sky blue and its length reached to the top of her waist. It waved slightly back and forth as she looked up at him expectantly. Zeke looked back her in confusion, her purple eyes unwavering as she gazed up at him.
"Listen, kid. I'm not sure what you're doing here but you're kinda in the way. You wanna move so I can keep going?"
She blinked a few times looking at him and then turned and looked behind her for a brief second. When she turned back around, she pointed back at the top of the moutain path while still maintaining eye contact. Zeke raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what she was thinking.
"Um... yes. That's where I'm going. You should run along and go back to your parents."
The child continued to stare at him before looking ahead. She then quickly and quietly moved to stand at his side, turning to face the moutain just as he was. Zeke didnt move as he was intently watching the child, feeling unsure about the situation but also acutely aware that she probably didnt have anywhere to go since she had fallen out of the sky. Only a jerk would leave a child behind, especially a child without parents, and Zeke was not a jerk.
As he observed her she gently reached out for his hand and wrapped her fingers around his pointer finger while staring up at him. Zeke sighed and scratched his head with his free hand but couldn't bring himself to remove her hand from his.
"Look, kid. I'm not really guardian material here. I'm barely able to stand on me own two feet as it is right now."
The child again blinked before she turned back towards the moutain. Her small hands never left his finger as she took a small step forward, and then looked back up at Zeke expectantly. Zeke sighed.
"I... Alright, listen. We'll both go but when we get to town we need to try and figure out a plan for you, okay? And we need to be quick."
The child nodded and tugged at him impatiently.
Zeke began to slowly walk and chuckled.
"Easy kid. I'm trying but you've gotta be patient with me. I don't feel the best."
The two proceeded in silence for a time up the rough trail with the girl gently pulling on him everytime she decided Zeke wasnt moving quickly enough. They made steady progress and soon they were a good ways up the moutain path. The fortress was a little farther ahead of them, around a bend on their left. They were fairly close. However, Zeke began to hear shouting in the distance. He scowled and looked over his shoulder, down the moutain, and back toward the forest he'd come from. The edges were slowly being illuminated by small scattered lights but he knew once they cleared the forest they'd easily overtake them before they could reach the border fortress. Zeke looked down at the girl and reached out his other hand to rest it on her head.
"It'll be better if you go on by yourself now. You go ahead and get to the gate up there. I'll catch up to you in a little while alright?"
The girl looked up at him, concern crossing her face. She looked down toward the forest and then slowly started shaking her head no. She then turned towards the gate and began to tug harder on his hand, encouraging him to come with her. She seemed to understand the danger but even now this small child had a kind of serenity to her. There was hurried movement in her actions but it never struck Zeke as urgency or panic. She was clearly certain they could make it together.
Zeke smiled wearily, his resolve fading as he realized that he'd much rather she make it to safety over him. Zeke hated people but children always softened him up a bit. He'd been holding out hope that his pursuers would be far enough away from them that he'd be able to make it but he knew that was unlikely. The girl wouldn't be in any danger but Zeke knew what was in store for him. At worst life imprisonment. At best, execution.
This knowledge reminded him of why he'd been in such a fierce hurry in the first place but at this point his body truly had nothing left. This girl crashing down in a ball of fire beside him had stolen what might he had mustered. He'd over done it trying to protect himself. Even now, though his chest pain had dulled, he hesitated to try and pull more energy from himself. When a person runs out of the natural energy stored in the body for immediate use, it is possible to dig deeper into themself and pull more forth. The body always has a little extra to give in the right circumstances and Zeke had relied on this many times in the past when he needed to push himself. Unfortunately, he'd had been running off of that and pure resolve for about a solid week. His body quite literally had given him everything it was able to. And when this energy runs out, a person begins pulling from their own soul. The soul of a person is, after all, only energy as well, albeit highly compressed and layered. Peeling back these layers for use slowly erodes a person's mind, reaction time, and ability to think though the body remains untouched. Use too many layers and it's likely the last few will break on their own. A cracked layer will recover with enough rest and time but fully using one will permanently deplete it. Using the majority of your soul until the last layers break erases you from existence completely without any chance to enter the after life that Sal prepared. Once the soul is gone, the body disintegrates as it's being is rooted in having to contain the soul. The body too is energy albeit differently structured.
All of this was basic information that anyone in a military job was taught and Zeke was all too aware that the consequences for losing layers of the soul were severe. At most, a person had anywhere from 8-10 layers and the soul would always fall apart upon the reaching the last three layers. Those last layers always unraveled as there wasnt enough condensed energy anymore to hold it all together. That said, no one was sure how many layers they had and there was no way to tell without Sal or one of his guardians divulging that information.
Zeke stopped and the girl continued to tug at him. He firmly stood in place though and turned to face his pursuers, pulling his fingers from her tiny grasp. Breaking the first outer layer of the soul hurts terribly, but afterward you can't tell how much youre pulling or if you're pulling from the inner layers until they break. Zeke resolved himself to fight until the end, knowing that even if he made it, he probably would never be able to fight a difficult battle again. He was already heavily out matched by the team leader alone no matter how much energy he used. Add on the 30 other team members and he didn't stand a chance.
"You'll probably be ignored kid, I wouldn't worry. Really, go ahead and I'll catch up."
The child pointed up at the border fortress and stomped her foot, glaring at him. She wasn't leaving him behind. Zeke sighed and smiled. She was stubborn.
However, time was up.
A figure dawned in heavy white armor with a red cape launched itself out of the forest and up the moutain path. Zeke heard the sound of them jumping into the air and turned to look behind him but was too slow.
Before he could catch a clear glimpse, the broadside of an enormous axe slammed into his torso and sent him flying into the cliffside. Zeke slammed into the stone wall, his whole body in shock, and collapsed. Blood spilled from his mouth and he hacked as he tried to breath. The child came running up to his side and gently put her hands on him.
The silver haired warrior threw his axe head-first into the ground and leaned on the handle with one of his massive arms. He pulled the smoke he had been rolling between his teeth from his mouth, chuckling, and flicked it away. Brown eyes glinting, he smiled menacingly.
"You sure do know how to piss me off boy. You almost made it too. Pity about that giant ball of fire giving you away like that." Zeke continued to hack and sputter, barely able to catch his breath. He gingerly tried to push himself up with his hands but his arms refused and he remained firmly planted, face down, on the ground. The child tried to help him but Zeke was too heavy for her. Her efforts made no difference. The warrior took note of her while she was trying to assist him and burst into laughter.
"Eh, what's this then? You find a little girl while you were running? Now that's amusing boy. What, is she your back up? You've got to be a special kind of idiot to bring a child with you when you're being chased by soldiers." He reached for his axe and ripped it free from the ground. Swinging it over his shoulder, he shook his head and began walking towards them. "You've got a lot more fight than I'd given you credit for but a B rank is still a B rank. Time's up though. I'll be taking that sword and dragging your sorry carcass back to the king."
Zeke struggled again to try and raise himself but again his body refused. He cursed under his breath but finally allowed himself to relax. There was nothing that could be done now. He couldn't run, he couldn't fight, and he couldn't move. Zeke closed his eyes and felt his consciousness slipping away as exhaustion surged over him.
"Well... At least if I'm going, they'll literally have to drag me there. I can't walk even if I wanted to." Just as he was about to completely pass out, he heard the small clacking of wooden shoes moving in front of him.
"Eh? What, do you think you're gonna stop me little girl?"
Zeke dug his fingers into the ground and sighed
"Kid, please don't do what I think you're about to do" He struggled but managed to open his eyes and sure enough the girl was standing in front of him with her arms open, blocking him off from the warrior. The warrior was squatting down, examining her in amusement.
"I'm not sure you'd be much for a fight with weapons or fists. Are we gonna play rock, paper, scissors then? It's the only way I think I can make this fair! BAHAHAHA!" He burst into laughter and Zeke struggled for the third time to stand up and this time, his body finally listened. Slowly, he rose to his knees and lifted his head.
"Leave her be you big asshole. Or do you actually enjoy picking fights with little girls?"
The brute's smile faded and he looked past the child to Zeke.
"Ah. Still have some fight in you, eh? You're lucky your old man is merciful because otherwise I'd have lopped your head off and left your corpse here already."
"Yeah, screw you too dad." Zeke rose slowly while his father stood up and hoisted his axe to his shoulder.
"Always so unappreciative. You may be my son but that mouth has always caused me my share of problems. Why can't you just keep it shut for once?"
Zeke stood wearily and stared at his old man. As he collected himself, he noticed that the soldiers who had been following his father were slowly beginning to appear behind him. It took them some time to catch up, but his father attacking him to slow him down had held him up long enough for them to get there.
"Still need backup to handle one B rank huh? Pretty sad for the greatest general in Feltari."
Zeke's father raised an eyebrow in annoyance and spat out his smoke, stamping it out once it hit the ground.
"At least it gave you an extra couple days to run since I was forced to round up a search party. If I'd have come for you myself like I wanted, I'd have drug you back in a day. Right now though, you're pissin me off a good bit brat. I'd force you to put up if I didnt think you'd keel over again. No sport in beating on a whelp that can't fight back."
Zeke glared at his father, aggrivated that it was so obvious how drained he was. He reached a hand above his shoulder for his sword, coming to rest on its hilt. He didnt pull it but it provided a bit of comfort to him just have his hand there. Zeke knew full well he couldn't wield it in any capacity right now anyway but he'd at the very least try if he really had to.
"You're really gonna bother?" his father asked. "In your condition? You'd be farther ahead dropping it and trying to run. And I dont know if you can even do that." Zeke gripped the handle more tightly and widened his stance.
"If you're going to take it, you're gonna take it after my body evaporates. You'll kill me before I willingly go with you."
Zeke's father rolled his eyes.
"Well that won't be much of a challenge. At least you'll be dying with some honor though."
His dad took a step towards him, readying his axe. The small girl hadn't moved from between the two of them but seeing him begin to come closer, she glared at him as fiercely as her little eyes could. Zeke began to prepare to pull more energy forward and focused. The tension built between the three before a voice called out from behind the small crowd behind them.
"Wait! Wait! General Tauron hold on!" a voice rang out from behind the soldiers as a girl pushed her way in front of them. "Excuse me, my apologies, I'm sorry, General! Please!" The girl emerged from behind the last soldier and Zeke inwardly sighed. He recognized her brown hair and hazel eyes instantly as they had spent a lot of time together at the military academy. The girl had a pure white skirt with a red breastplate and white gloves. White thigh highs adorned her legs leading down to red shoes. A rapier rested at her hip.
"Erika, why the heck are you here?" he thought.
General Tauron looked in her direction and had about the same reaction as Zeke but purely out of impatience.
"Girl, what do you want?"
Erika smoothed her skirt nervously.
"Well, um... Ya know. You said the whole reason we're coming after him is to get his sword. Maybe we just take the sword and... let him go?"
The general looked at Erika and exhaled deeply.
"In the last month he's killed 17 soldiers, permanently incapacitated 4 others, stolen numerous goods and food, disobeyed direct orders from his majesty, and avoided his summons to the royal court. At this point the boy is a criminal and he should be punished as one."
Erika nodded and put her head down.
"Yes, but I've been reviewing the law as we've been pursuing him. He stopped being a citizen the second he got his mercenary license and declared his loyalty to Gelshin. The court had no right to summon him or repossess anything of his since he wasn't a citizen at that point. He wasn't even given his two months of pardon to get his things and leave and-"
"ENOUGH!" Tauron roared. "I know what the laws state. The fact is he still has to answer for the murder of those soldiers and his stealing. That isnt covered by being a noncitizen. "
Zeke scoffed. "The only reason I even did any of that was because I was unjustly declared a criminal after I ran and was being hunted down. I couldn't buy anything, I couldn't stay anywhere, and you assholes attacked me on sight."
Tauron shrugged. "If you were declared a criminal it's not my place to question why. My job is to bring you in. I know my orders." Zeke shook his head.
"Glad to know you're just an animal following commands. I always knew you were too stupid to think for yourself."
Erika looked between the two nervously and again tried to reason with the general.
"Sir, with all due respect, if he is innocent Sal might get involved. We're not allowed to break the laws that were set for our countries. There's big consequences for that!"
Tauron looked to her for a minute and stroked his beard. Then, he took his axe and slammed it head first into the ground.
"Sal hasn't interacted with anyone in ages. If he actually does something about this now, I'd be impressed that he's actually still around. Men, get the child out of the way and restrain him."
Within moments a swarm of soldiers came barreling in on Zeke and the child. Zeke attempted to resist but was quickly overpowered with his hands forced behind his back. The child kicked and punched to little effect until one of the soldiers picked her up and moved her out of the way. Erika protested and tried to push her way forward but one of the soldiers restrained her as well. Slowly, things calmed down and things became quieter despite the three of them struggling. Tauron approached Zeke and when he was standing in front of him grabbed him by his hair to force Zeke to look him in the eyes.
"Zeke, with the power vested in me by the king I officially place you under arrest. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Zeke smirked. Without a word, he spat on his father's face. Tauron calmly took his hand and wiped it off. Then, with all the force he could muster without killing him, struck Zeke in the stomach with his right hand.
Zeke heaved and threw up blood. He already had several broken ribs from the axe swing earlier but any that weren't broken before sure felt like they were now. He couldn't breathe.
Tauron turned around and began walking away.
"Overruled. Men, let's go home. Erika, you may cross the border. Our escort is done."
The man restraining her let her go and she fell to her knees as everyone began to leave.
"Sir, what do we do with the child?" One of the soldiers asked.
Tauron raised a hand and waved him off.
"Leave her for the border guard to deal with. There's no need to bring her with us."
The soldier nodded and lower the girl to the ground. Angrily, the child turned towards the man and put her arms out, concentrating. She began to glow as energy surged around her and the soldier looked down in amusement. Laughing, he squatted down to look her in the eye.
"Aw, are you gonna fight now? General, have a look at thi-" his sentence was cut off as lightening erupted from the child and instantly vaporized him. The whole army stumbled as the shockwave from the attack washed over them. Those who had been close to the attack were blown backward and knocked off their feet. Tauron, in shock, spun around.
"What the? Men! What's going on back there?"
The child began to float and rose up in the air, charging up again as energy flooded the area around her. As she rose, an immense pressure descended on the area and a voice rang out from the sky.
"General Tauron. You and your men have violated the laws that I set in place at the founding of the four nations. Judgement will now be passed on you by my adjutant, Neeri, whom I've sent to assist Zeke. Anything you say can and will be used against you. From this point forward, your lives are at her mercy."
Tauron stared, dumb founded, mouth agape. Sal had been silent for almost 1,200 years. His appearing now was nothing short of a miracle as well as a nightmare.
"Wait, please. Your lordship, this is just a simple mistake. The boy-"
"Silence." Sal commanded. "I have been watching over this boy since he was young. I know how he has been treated. You have my contempt for more than just what has transpired in the last few weeks general."
"I... I understand." General Tauron sunk down and took a knee. Seeing this, his men did so as well. Zeke, who now had his hands free, looked up at Neeri and scoffed.
"You are damn late! What the heck Sal?"
"Please, Zeke, another time. Make your way behind where Neeri is floating." Zeke rolled his eyes and began slowly walking. Erika, seeing him struggle come over to assist him but he waved her off. Once he was behind where Neeri was, Sal spoke again.
"Erika, as you were the only one who attempted to speak some sense to Tauron I will pardon you for this current matter. Please step behind Neeri as well." Erika looked uncertain but nodded and made her way back.
"Now then. Neeri I will be leaving this to you. Do as you see fit." The pressure lifted as Sal's presence departed.
Neeri gently floated down to the ground and when she landed she stepped up to the middle of the group of men. Energy surged around her and the ground began to quake once more. Then a beam of light erupted from the back of her hand and engulfed the entirety of the army.