NOVEL WEB Chapter-79 Bridge
The rubble, the debris, and the moribund buildings narrowed the streets, their shades deepening the gloom of the night. Haunting silence reigned supreme, but the occasional howls disrupted its continuance.
They walked, their boots crunching the pebbles and the pieces of shattered concrete underfoot, and reached the end of the street. Up ahead it opened to a semi-clean plaza, showering in the violet-silver moonlight. Broken fountain sprayed water beyond its initial limits, its allure long lost. Three baby-Astylinds splashed the ankle-deep puddle, rolling and tossing, while an adult wheezed by the side, its snores rippling the pool. Craggy and cracked skin, four stumpy legs, and a pointy horn on the nose reaching for the sky—"Earth Rhino,” Ewan whispered and pushed Nana back, hiding by the wall.
“Are we fighting?” Nana asked, Xylla nestled in her arms.
Ewan glanced at the three newborn Astylinds, they were a good number of Novas, and he needed some balance. Frost and Orange were already at Grade-B, but Iris remained at ‘C’. Her weak consciousness might prove to be detrimental to her success, so he needed to prepare for her failure. But the fight could attract unwanted audience and delay them, they were so close to their destination now….
Level-6, D, male….
“Let’s fight, we both can use some Novas. You should stop selling uncle’s materials too,” Ewan said.
Nana peeked out. “There’s three, winner gets two, loser one,” she said. “Rock paper scissors.”
Ewan smirked. “You never win, why don’t you just give up.”
“I’ll win this time,” she said and took a deep breath, putting Xylla on the ground before rotating her shoulders and stretching her neck.
“I already know what you’ll throw before you throw it,” he said with a smug smile. Whenever he roused her up, she always played rock. It was either her defense mechanism or she was trying to fight back.
“Shuddup,” she said, getting ready. “Rock paper scissors!”
She threw rock, Ewan threw paper.
“See.” He laughed.
“Again,” she said, fuming.
Ewan shrugged and indulged her. She lost with rock, so she would move down the sequence, a forced submissive attack.
And she threw paper, he threw scissors.
He laughed and flicked her forehead. “I can read you like an open book,” he said, while she stared at her palm.
“Didn’t you say you can't read my mind…,” she said under her breath.
Ewan coughed and cleared his throat. “Don’t mind that, cast <Drizzle> and send Luna to scout. Toast will back her up.”
Earth Rhinos lived in pairs after they mated—the male was here; the female should be nearby. Getting flanked was the last thing he wished for.
Frost, Orange, go!
……
Hunts, fights, and reroutes delayed them. Days of distance stretched into weeks while Obria slipped away from under Human’s control. Kyrons didn’t belong here, they were powerless, so they lost the fight without even fighting it. Their numbers dwindled each day, they didn’t need the ‘cruel’ Severynths to butcher them like cattle anymore.
The law of nature that had creeped in from the crumbled walls also didn’t spare the Ashevas, they died a dime a dozen. The weak lost their lives, the strong became stronger. And so, days went by without their path crossing anyone else’s. No screams, no cries for help. Now, if only Nana kept her mouth shut, his world would become serene and peaceful again…but alas, he could only wish.
“We’re here,” Ewan said, watching the dropping arc of the saffron barrier from atop a concrete slab, minding the torn rebars.
Rampaging Astylinds had long flattened the outskirts. Not even a hint of its past showed in its ravaged present. The proud wall, the bustling taverns, the nose-burning stench, nothing survived. When the fences came down, civilization lost in front of sheer carnage that barged in.
“How do we contact him now?” Nana asked, gaping at the ‘flatlands’ in front.
The greenery outside the barrier contrasted the grays inside too much, even with the sepia tint that the saffron of the barrier added. “Let’s rest here for now, we’ll think about that later,” he said. Since the moment he stepped foot in this area, his instincts went haywire. Someone peeked at him, someone whose reach he couldn’t imagine, someone he could never contest. His instincts warned him, again and again, he had to struggle against it to stay here.
It was the new Crown declaring his presence, he was sure. Though he didn’t expect this, it did solve the problem of contacting him for the trade. But it wasn’t time yet. Ewan had already concluded his research on the saffron shield but had one last thing to do before meeting him.
“Get some sleep, I’ll keep watch,” Ewan said, brushing the dust and dirt away from under the giant concrete boulder. The shade it provided was good enough for a makeshift camp.
“I’m not sleepy though,” Nana said, helping him clean, hacking when the cloud of white dust assaulted her.
“Lie down anyway, we need to be at our best for this,” he said. “Give Xylla to me, you just get some shut eye.”
The fox screeched at Ewan and grabbed onto Nana’s sleeves.
Quite perceptive, aren’t you.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep her safe,” he said.
“She doesn’t like you,” Nana said, trying to free her top from the fox’s sharp claws.
“It’s fine, she’ll come to like me soon.” Ewan scruffed the fox and shooed Nana away after brushing the powdered dust off her hair.
Bridge, extract, condense, cleanse, and merge—they were the five parts of the spell for Bralek, the fourth innate skill.
Bridge!
He aimed at the raging fox and cast the spell. His soul sent out a thread to her soul, it connected while Ewan suppressed her with Ryvia. She struggled and snarled, but he held her down and jammed the thread in.
….
….
“We’re on the same boat now, I die you die. So, stop fighting,” he snickered when the spell succeeded.
The fox settled down and glared at him, hanging by her scruff. If only her stare could kill….
“Nana, forget about sleeping, its time.”
Let’s end this.
