The dragon flew up with a wild woosh, shaking its surroundings before disappearing into the darkness. The Misfits remained as still as possible, trying to make themselves invisible to every and all senses, at least until they heard an explosion coming from the distance. Flinching, they scrambled to a different window, trying the see, but they could only perceive the column of dark, green light reaching toward the broken sky.
"It is either almost ready and is testing out its powers... Or..." Aurora signed, but everyone knew that where it attacked was precisely where they were before, where they saw the Undead patrolling the streets.
A little later, a second blast came, then a third as it flew around, razing the Inner Region around that particular spot. It took only a few more rounds before it returned, landing at the same place before going immobile. The Misfits remained motionless for almost half an hour before they were sure the dragon would move no more.
"It certainly knows someone is here," Raufon said with a whisper.
"The question is, will it wake up when we make our move?" Sion added.
"If we are lucky, no." Lia said, standing up straight, "It used spells multiple times. Maybe it will even need extra time to regenerate! Let's go!"
With that, nobody waited, and they left their hiding spot, Rinzen carrying Rose in her arms. Their target was the nearest highrise structure, and they reached it after only half an hour or so. Its base was round, forming a perfect circle with no entrance visible on it.
"Is this solid?" Keily asked, touching and tapping it, but he couldn't feel anything.
"I can't tell," Rinzen answered, her hand also on it, letting her energy seep into it, trying to explore its insides, but it was like pouring water into a bottomless pit.
"It has no name." Putting away the ancient map, Lia said, "It says it's Pillar #5… but it must be the map's fault because it has no names for any of the buildings in here, and the streets are also left blank."
"This region had to be for only the privileged." Koadriana mused, looking up, amazed by how high the building went. Its smooth, mirrored surface reflected the dragon's body that was 'sleeping' only a few hundred meters away from them.
"How are we going to do it?" Ceiline looked at Lia, who was also watching the construct with a thinking expression.
"Rinzen?" She turned towards her instead of answering.
"I can't really tell, but…." She let freezing coldness come out of her palm and cover its surface, turning it from a silvery color to a lighter shade of blue. "It is affected by magic."
Lia drew her sword, stabbing at it, and to everyone's surprise, the surface cracked, and crumbled away, leaving a deep hole behind while multiple fresh fissures spread around it.
"It is ancient." She said happily, "No matter how strong or good something is, it has been standing here for way longer than we could imagine! Whatever protection it had, it already wore off!" With that, she summoned her blue flames, stabbing her sword deep into the structure and starting to freeze it. "Rinzen and I will weaken it, and the rest of you will start throwing everything you got at it!"
"I see…" Aurora signed, watching the part that Lia was already freezing over, and Rinzen joined in with her own spells. Everyone realized her plan because if the tower truly crumbled away, it would fall straight onto the dragon's body…
…
….
……
In a faraway land, six people just woke up from their meditation, feeling exhausted, confused, and sick. The world was spinning around them, and their thoughts were jumbled up, still slightly entangled with each other. They needed minutes to finally remember who they were and what they were doing.
“This is… hard…” One of them groaned, holding her head, trying to breathe and stay in a sitting position, while her orange hair was already faded, slowly turning white.
The others didn't answer as they were still struggling to find themselves, literally. Joining their minds and souls to manipulate multiple bodies at once was a feeling none of them were used to. Doing so, they felt loosening their humanity, right to the point of almost losing it altogether. They already saw some of their disciple brothers and sisters never recover and remain vegetative, forever stuck in controlling the puppet, the Undead bodies. They slowly turned transparent until all of their soul was dispersed into nothingness.
They all had no choice but to do it whenever they were ordered. They were dead anyway… some believed this was the reward for their faith; others were horrified and thought this was their punishment for what they did while being alive. She was someone who belonged to the latter. Yet, it did not matter now… As the others said, their souls were 'collected,' showing enough talent to be interesting. Without questions, they were inducted into this… Soulbound Sect.
She was initially elated when she was taught the technique for maintaining a corporeal form with only her soul. She had so many ideas popped up in her mind and rekindled a long-lost hope… which was then extinguished not much later. She learned in the past months that her hopes were for nothing, and she would never see her partner again as she was not here, no matter how much she looked amongst the new 'disciples.' From then on, she just did as she was told, too weak and afraid to try and kill herself once more.
"Are we sure there was anybody there?" She asked, shaking her thoughts away, looking at her group, the ones she was assigned to work together with.
"There had to be!" A boy answered, holding his head, squinting, trying to regain his sight. "We did find traces and some weird plants. Nothing grows there, so how did they even get in then?"
"Did we?" Another boy asked, utterly confused, even drooling a little.
It was hard to tell for real. Their minds were like a soup when merged, and it was closer to some sort of vivid dreaming than being awake and fully conscious. Whatever they remembered finding or doing was hidden behind multiple layers of doubt. Did it happen? Maybe. Maybe not.
"Are you sure?" the squinting boy asked, who already had silver-like hair closest to turning completely white from the group. One of his eyes was unmistakable, emerald green, while the other was slowly turning to it from its original brown color. He was their group's 'Seeker,' the Undead that the world knew as an Abnormal Variant.
"I am." He nodded, "That memory is true; I made sure to extract it when coming back!" He stood up, wobbling a little, "You…" He pointed at the girl, who was the first to awaken, "Come with me… we are going to make a report!"
…
….
……
Senaita was sitting cross-legged up on the ziggurat, replaying everything in her mind. They finally managed to use spells but also strained the dragon's body and their own souls to the limit. They would need more time to return, but this time, they would be almost ready to go to the surface and start wreaking havoc. She was smiling eagerly when she felt steps climbing the stairs, heading up to the top, and carrying the stench of unclean mana with them.
"What now…?" She stood up, walking forward, and saw the two ascend, stopping as soon as their eyes met. "Speak." She ordered them from multiple meters away.
"We… I found something, Elder Senaita!" The boy cupped his hands, bowing, making the girl furrow her brows next to him.
"Whatever it is, it should not be important." She waved her hand and almost turned around before stopping herself. This was the most crucial task in her life. It was the last step to complete her desire to become a Grand Elder. With a sigh, she looked back, and before any of them could act, she appeared before the boy.
Her fingers clamped around his head, and with a loud pop, the boy's soul exploded, turning into a swirling mist that was absorbed into the hand of Senaita. Her eyes were closed, her brows furrowed as she experienced all the memories and life of his, from the moment of his birth on Meriath through his death and time in the Sect. After finishing, she opened her eyes, looking at the girl who already fell to her buttocks. She was horrified, expecting to be the next meal of this... monster.
"He was right." Senaita licked her lips, looking satisfied. "You!"
"...!" The girl flinched, watching her with eyes that were already accepted and expected to die once again.
"Go back and tell the others to return to patrolling once more! Head into the Core Region and look for intruders! If there are any, they could pose a threat… injuring the vessel would be the worst outcome! I don't care how many bodies it takes but bog them down if you find them! At least until we come back down!"
"Y-yes…" She answered, her mouth dry before Senaita simply turned around, leaving her there. It took minutes for her to rise back to her feet and leave, never again wanting to climb this cursed ziggurat again…. She wished that her consciousness would fade away in the next mission, never to return. Death was preferable to… this.
…
….
……
Inside the Core Region, loud creaking and clanking noises echoed far and wide. It was the sound of every Misfit battering the weakened base of the tall building, hacking at it like they were trying to fell an exceptionally large tree. Glass shards were falling from high above, being deflected by Raufon while the rest was using spell after spell, attacking the frozen parts of the building. It was a miracle that they were not interrupted immediately as it was louder than anyone expected… but it was no time to back down by now. Standing close to Raufon, Rose watched with awe as every spell was like a colorful flash in her eyes, illuminating the darkness around her.
"They are coming! The monsters!" She said suddenly, making Raufon flinch, watching her as she was pointing in the opposite direction.
"Are you sure?" Lia asked, hearing her but continuing to utilize her blue flames while downing another mana potion.
"I can see them!" She nodded, watching the horizon. She could see the bright wall surrounding the Core Region and could see that the unnatural, black, and greenish lights were coming through, heading straight for them.
"Well…" Lia bit her lips. "It was unavoidable! Go, set up our defenses! Rinzen and Me can finish this! This shouldn't take long!" She ordered them, watching the wreck before them. It looked as if a monster bit out a massive part of its base. The whole thing was creaking and cracking continuously. It was on the verge of collapse. "Let us pick up speed!" She turned towards Rinzen when everyone was gone, and only Rose remained behind with them. As Lia looked at her, a question popped into her mind. "Can you see them from here then?"
"Yes," Rose answered shyly.
"Keep us informed how it goes, okay?"
"Y-yes!" The little girl nodded, suddenly feeling happy, knowing, for the first time in her life, she was going to be helpful… her eyes would be valuable. Something that she never thought to be possible.
Corty Tell me if you find errors, there could be more than usual... honestly speaking, I feel ill. I don't know what it is, but it is like I swallowed some kind of burning coal since yesterday, and It just doesn't want to go away fully. Sometimes it does, but then it comes back in force a few hours after. Maybe something I ate... anyway, it should not affect the chapters too much. I hope.
The dragon flew up with a wild woosh, shaking its surroundings before disappearing into the darkness. The Misfits remained as still as possible, trying to make themselves invisible to every and all senses, at least until they heard an explosion coming from the distance. Flinching, they scrambled to a different window, trying the see, but they could only perceive the column of dark, green light reaching toward the broken sky.
"It is either almost ready and is testing out its powers... Or..." Aurora signed, but everyone knew that where it attacked was precisely where they were before, where they saw the Undead patrolling the streets.
A little later, a second blast came, then a third as it flew around, razing the Inner Region around that particular spot. It took only a few more rounds before it returned, landing at the same place before going immobile. The Misfits remained motionless for almost half an hour before they were sure the dragon would move no more.
"It certainly knows someone is here," Raufon said with a whisper.
"The question is, will it wake up when we make our move?" Sion added.
"If we are lucky, no." Lia said, standing up straight, "It used spells multiple times. Maybe it will even need extra time to regenerate! Let's go!"
With that, nobody waited, and they left their hiding spot, Rinzen carrying Rose in her arms. Their target was the nearest highrise structure, and they reached it after only half an hour or so. Its base was round, forming a perfect circle with no entrance visible on it.
"Is this solid?" Keily asked, touching and tapping it, but he couldn't feel anything.
"I can't tell," Rinzen answered, her hand also on it, letting her energy seep into it, trying to explore its insides, but it was like pouring water into a bottomless pit.
"It has no name." Putting away the ancient map, Lia said, "It says it's Pillar #5… but it must be the map's fault because it has no names for any of the buildings in here, and the streets are also left blank."
"This region had to be for only the privileged." Koadriana mused, looking up, amazed by how high the building went. Its smooth, mirrored surface reflected the dragon's body that was 'sleeping' only a few hundred meters away from them.
"How are we going to do it?" Ceiline looked at Lia, who was also watching the construct with a thinking expression.
"Rinzen?" She turned towards her instead of answering.
"I can't really tell, but…." She let freezing coldness come out of her palm and cover its surface, turning it from a silvery color to a lighter shade of blue. "It is affected by magic."
Lia drew her sword, stabbing at it, and to everyone's surprise, the surface cracked, and crumbled away, leaving a deep hole behind while multiple fresh fissures spread around it.
"It is ancient." She said happily, "No matter how strong or good something is, it has been standing here for way longer than we could imagine! Whatever protection it had, it already wore off!" With that, she summoned her blue flames, stabbing her sword deep into the structure and starting to freeze it. "Rinzen and I will weaken it, and the rest of you will start throwing everything you got at it!"
"I see…" Aurora signed, watching the part that Lia was already freezing over, and Rinzen joined in with her own spells. Everyone realized her plan because if the tower truly crumbled away, it would fall straight onto the dragon's body…
…
….
……
In a faraway land, six people just woke up from their meditation, feeling exhausted, confused, and sick. The world was spinning around them, and their thoughts were jumbled up, still slightly entangled with each other. They needed minutes to finally remember who they were and what they were doing.
“This is… hard…” One of them groaned, holding her head, trying to breathe and stay in a sitting position, while her orange hair was already faded, slowly turning white.
The others didn't answer as they were still struggling to find themselves, literally. Joining their minds and souls to manipulate multiple bodies at once was a feeling none of them were used to. Doing so, they felt loosening their humanity, right to the point of almost losing it altogether. They already saw some of their disciple brothers and sisters never recover and remain vegetative, forever stuck in controlling the puppet, the Undead bodies. They slowly turned transparent until all of their soul was dispersed into nothingness.
They all had no choice but to do it whenever they were ordered. They were dead anyway… some believed this was the reward for their faith; others were horrified and thought this was their punishment for what they did while being alive. She was someone who belonged to the latter. Yet, it did not matter now… As the others said, their souls were 'collected,' showing enough talent to be interesting. Without questions, they were inducted into this… Soulbound Sect.
She was initially elated when she was taught the technique for maintaining a corporeal form with only her soul. She had so many ideas popped up in her mind and rekindled a long-lost hope… which was then extinguished not much later. She learned in the past months that her hopes were for nothing, and she would never see her partner again as she was not here, no matter how much she looked amongst the new 'disciples.' From then on, she just did as she was told, too weak and afraid to try and kill herself once more.
"Are we sure there was anybody there?" She asked, shaking her thoughts away, looking at her group, the ones she was assigned to work together with.
"There had to be!" A boy answered, holding his head, squinting, trying to regain his sight. "We did find traces and some weird plants. Nothing grows there, so how did they even get in then?"
"Did we?" Another boy asked, utterly confused, even drooling a little.
It was hard to tell for real. Their minds were like a soup when merged, and it was closer to some sort of vivid dreaming than being awake and fully conscious. Whatever they remembered finding or doing was hidden behind multiple layers of doubt. Did it happen? Maybe. Maybe not.
"Are you sure?" the squinting boy asked, who already had silver-like hair closest to turning completely white from the group. One of his eyes was unmistakable, emerald green, while the other was slowly turning to it from its original brown color. He was their group's 'Seeker,' the Undead that the world knew as an Abnormal Variant.
"I am." He nodded, "That memory is true; I made sure to extract it when coming back!" He stood up, wobbling a little, "You…" He pointed at the girl, who was the first to awaken, "Come with me… we are going to make a report!"
…
….
……
Senaita was sitting cross-legged up on the ziggurat, replaying everything in her mind. They finally managed to use spells but also strained the dragon's body and their own souls to the limit. They would need more time to return, but this time, they would be almost ready to go to the surface and start wreaking havoc. She was smiling eagerly when she felt steps climbing the stairs, heading up to the top, and carrying the stench of unclean mana with them.
"What now…?" She stood up, walking forward, and saw the two ascend, stopping as soon as their eyes met. "Speak." She ordered them from multiple meters away.
"We… I found something, Elder Senaita!" The boy cupped his hands, bowing, making the girl furrow her brows next to him.
"Whatever it is, it should not be important." She waved her hand and almost turned around before stopping herself. This was the most crucial task in her life. It was the last step to complete her desire to become a Grand Elder. With a sigh, she looked back, and before any of them could act, she appeared before the boy.
Her fingers clamped around his head, and with a loud pop, the boy's soul exploded, turning into a swirling mist that was absorbed into the hand of Senaita. Her eyes were closed, her brows furrowed as she experienced all the memories and life of his, from the moment of his birth on Meriath through his death and time in the Sect. After finishing, she opened her eyes, looking at the girl who already fell to her buttocks. She was horrified, expecting to be the next meal of this... monster.
"He was right." Senaita licked her lips, looking satisfied. "You!"
"...!" The girl flinched, watching her with eyes that were already accepted and expected to die once again.
"Go back and tell the others to return to patrolling once more! Head into the Core Region and look for intruders! If there are any, they could pose a threat… injuring the vessel would be the worst outcome! I don't care how many bodies it takes but bog them down if you find them! At least until we come back down!"
"Y-yes…" She answered, her mouth dry before Senaita simply turned around, leaving her there. It took minutes for her to rise back to her feet and leave, never again wanting to climb this cursed ziggurat again…. She wished that her consciousness would fade away in the next mission, never to return. Death was preferable to… this.
…
….
……
Inside the Core Region, loud creaking and clanking noises echoed far and wide. It was the sound of every Misfit battering the weakened base of the tall building, hacking at it like they were trying to fell an exceptionally large tree. Glass shards were falling from high above, being deflected by Raufon while the rest was using spell after spell, attacking the frozen parts of the building. It was a miracle that they were not interrupted immediately as it was louder than anyone expected… but it was no time to back down by now. Standing close to Raufon, Rose watched with awe as every spell was like a colorful flash in her eyes, illuminating the darkness around her.
"They are coming! The monsters!" She said suddenly, making Raufon flinch, watching her as she was pointing in the opposite direction.
"Are you sure?" Lia asked, hearing her but continuing to utilize her blue flames while downing another mana potion.
"I can see them!" She nodded, watching the horizon. She could see the bright wall surrounding the Core Region and could see that the unnatural, black, and greenish lights were coming through, heading straight for them.
"Well…" Lia bit her lips. "It was unavoidable! Go, set up our defenses! Rinzen and Me can finish this! This shouldn't take long!" She ordered them, watching the wreck before them. It looked as if a monster bit out a massive part of its base. The whole thing was creaking and cracking continuously. It was on the verge of collapse. "Let us pick up speed!" She turned towards Rinzen when everyone was gone, and only Rose remained behind with them. As Lia looked at her, a question popped into her mind. "Can you see them from here then?"
"Yes," Rose answered shyly.
"Keep us informed how it goes, okay?"
"Y-yes!" The little girl nodded, suddenly feeling happy, knowing, for the first time in her life, she was going to be helpful… her eyes would be valuable. Something that she never thought to be possible.
Corty Tell me if you find errors, there could be more than usual... honestly speaking, I feel ill. I don't know what it is, but it is like I swallowed some kind of burning coal since yesterday, and It just doesn't want to go away fully. Sometimes it does, but then it comes back in force a few hours after. Maybe something I ate... anyway, it should not affect the chapters too much. I hope.
