"…They got away."
I let out the breath I have been holding in. "…H-huh?" I gape, only now registering what she had just said.
"T-then who was that?" N'jobu asks, pointing at the pile of ash.
"…That was the other one."
There is a long moment of silence.
The expression on Vyswe'eyaga's face is unreadable, but the tone in her voice indicates how aggravated she actually is.
For my part, I am glad they are not here anymore. That giant acted like he was ready to retaliate but chose to flee, sacrificing his kin to that end. And to think it was Vyswe'eyaga that single-handedly dealt with them, overpowering all without breaking a sweat… I could have never imagined she hid such a fearsome power. Which makes me think; why keep it from us for such a long time and use it only now?
W-well, I can understand why she wouldn't want to flaunt it—yet there had been several occasions where it would have come in use. So why feign limitations she didn't have?
Vyswe'eyaga glides forth, slowly getting closer to the tear in space.
"This… this is not what we were told." I start, only now noticing one of the cloaked men has edged closer. He pulls back his hood, revealing an older man with greying hair and a weathered beard. His eyes never leave Vyswe'eyaga, his stare filled with a reverence I find deeply unsettling. "Our Lightbringer—b-but how? Have we misunderstood the signs all along?" I take cautious steps away from him and his group… the last thing we need is for them to mistake her for their claimed saviour. Though with the golden crown, incandescent eyes, and brilliance exuding from her, it can be easy to think her to be some sort of divine being.
Vyswe'eyaga is just beneath the tear. She seems to be studying the strange array around her. No one says a word, and no one tries to get close to her. The energy radiating from that area is just too potent and unnerving for any of us to try.
I don't know what I expected, but my brows shoot up when she smoothly lands on the ground. She staggers forward, a soft gasp echoing. Then halts before a rectangular stone block. Only now do I notice the monoliths are arranged in an encirclement on top of the array.
We can't see much of what she is actually doing with her back turned. I gather my resolve, fighting the urge to falter, and take a resolute step forward—only for a firm hand to clamp down on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. I glance back to see Ike quietly shaking his head. My eyes return to Vyswe'eyaga, her shoulders are quivering, and muffled sobs break the silence… leaving me confused. Is there something special about those blocks of stone?
I clench my jaw, then let out a frustrated sigh. This is not exactly the time for questions, I am guessing. The heavy silence lingers, accompanied by the faint, sorrowful cadence of her weeping. I shift my weight to another leg. I feel out of place, funnily enough. Should we leave her some space, maybe—but then I glance at the extra company… or maybe not.
Still lost in thought, I cast a fleeting glance at the rift, and my body locks in place. It was not intentional. My eyes merely drifted toward it while my mind was elsewhere... and it may well be the worst mistake I have ever made.
No. It is the worst thing I have ever done in my life. Because now I am staring at something... something... I-I don't know what I am looking at. My mind cannot make sense of it. My eyes insist they are seeing something, yet my thoughts slide helplessly over… it. There is no name for it, no frame of reference, no way to translate what stands before me into anything my mind can understand.
Then I feel my entire body throb. A metallic taste floods my mouth, so strong it drowns out everything else. The air thickens around me, crushing the breath from my chest. The world tilts and spins, and my head—it feels like… like it's being split open. My body is crumbling. I can feel in excruciating detail my body being unravelled from the inside out.
"Leave them… alone." The soft voice slices through the agony, as cleanly as scissors sever a taut string. The sudden freedom from the pain leaves me panting and gasping for my breath. I pat myself down in search of wounds or something amiss but find nothing. I look up, only to find Vyswe'eyaga's glowing figure facing the rift, and quickly avert my gaze.
I-I… I almost looked at it again.
"Are you guys all right?" Vyswe'eyaga's voice resounds again.
I steel myself before raising my head again. Cautiously. And make sure to focus only on her figure when I look at her.
A groan escapes my lips. She must be doing something to stop that entity from affecting us, but even that does not seem to be enough.
"Just wait a moment." And as soon as she says that, an opaque dome materialises around us, sealing us off from the outside… and the influence of that entity.
With a weary sigh, I drag myself to the golden wall of the dome and collapse against it.
Alas, the reprieve is short-lived.
Something hits the dome with the force of a landslide, followed by roaring explosions, shaking the ground in violent tremors that send everyone into a frenzy of panic, though there is little anyone can do. Chaos rages for several agonizing seconds before it is swallowed by an abrupt, unsettling quietness. My heart drums in my ears, beads of sweat rolling down my back, my body rigid, as I brace myself for something to happen.
Then the dome surrounding us dissolves into moths of light, revealing aftermath of the confrontation.
I draw in a sharp, deep breath as I take in the current state of the area. The rift—and the entity inhabiting it—has vanished, like it had never been there in the first place.
Something else has changed; the ominous-looking arcane circle at the centre of the cave has changed, or perhaps it is more accurate to say that it has been altered—a new array has been created. Even more complex than the previous one. Stranger symbols, and geometric patterns of a complexity that boggles my mind. It emits a warm, golden glow.
I only notice the collapsed figure below it a moment later. Vyswe'eyaga.
Ike is by her side in a heartbeat, gently cradling her in his arms.
"Vyvy."
"Is she unconscious?" I ask.
And just then, she stirs. Vyswe'eyaga opens her eyes, and I immediately notice they've returned to normal. She seems normal again… somewhat. A section of her hair at the nape of her neck has turned pale gold, forming a striking underlayer beneath the rest of her dark hair. Is this an after-effect of her powers?
Vyswe'eyaga groans, the type of groan someone makes when they just woke up from a long, deep sleep. Then she says in a lethargic voice; "…Uhm, why is everyone crowding me?"
"—Oi! Don't take another step. Stay where you are." Behind us Gamba and Azikiwe stand firm, barring the cloaked men who were pressing forward toward Vyswe'eyaga.
"Vyswe'eyaga, what did you do to that being in the tear, where did it go?" I ask her.
"Yeah," Ewa added, "and what was that… form you turned into? Have you always been able to do that? You were quite a sight."
Vyswe'eyaga looks at us, but her gaze still unfocused. She blinks once, then twice, and the line of her brows tightens. "Too many questions…" she slurs. "One at a time, please."
"I reckon there will be no time for that," Ike says with a grave expression on his face. Next to me, Ewa frowns, then her eyes slowly widen as if coming to a sudden realization.
"Uh-oh. We've got to go."
"Huh—" Then I sense it—the faintest tremor threading through the ground. Pebbles quiver; dust stirs at my feet, and the quakes grow progressively stronger.
I groan. "What is it now?"
And as if bemocking me, the cave shudders with a low groan, a deep shiver running through the stone as dust rains from the ceiling. A low, rushing sound swells in the darkness, then, without warning, the walls erupt. Water blasts out from every crack and fissure, surging in violent torrents that crash across the cavern floor. In a matter of moments, the water levels have already risen to our ankles.
"I… I think this is my fault," Vyswe'eyaga says, panic growing in her voice. "I must have gone too hard."
I am genuinely surprised we weren't already buried alive. When she had opposed that being in the rift, I had really thought the world was coming down on us and was baffled that seemingly no physical damage had ensued.
"W-what will become of us?" someone cries out.
"The portal, our way out… I-it was destroyed!"
"We are trapped!"
"We are going to die!"
They have already started to panic. This isn't good. And already the fear of the imminent life-threatening danger has made them bolder, and they are now trying to approach us. Despite Gamba and Azikiwe warning them off, many are trying to push past them to get close to Vyswe'eyaga, begging her to save them.
"There is something I can do," she tells us, then as she glances at the cloaked men, she adds cautiously; "I'll start by erecting a ward, it won't stop the flooding, but it will buy us some time for the time being."
"Oh… alright." There is something odd with her behaviour, like she has her mind elsewhere. But given our current situation, there is no time to worry about that. She nods, summons her staff, and we step back to give her some space.
As Vyswe'eyaga works on erecting the ward—large circles with Nchāren glyphs forming, covering the entire surface of the cave—N'jobu and Sazayi approach me. We quietly observe Vyswe'eyaga.
"Are you all right?" Why am I feeling so awkward?
Sazayi makes a complicated expression while N'jobu raises an eyebrow.
"Well, I feel like I'm in a fever dream," N'jobu shrugs, "Could be worse…" I understand what he means. I feel the same.
It's a bizarre experience. One moment, we were trudging through those tunnels. When I came to my senses, we were facing the giants, and before I could even process that, an overwhelming entity appeared and nearly killed us all by its mere presence, only for Vyswe'eyaga to somehow banish both it and the rift from which it emerged.
It all went out so quickly. I don't know how to process it all.
The cave trembles violently, and chunks of rock and earth cascade from the ceiling, only to slam harmlessly into Vyswe'eyaga's forming barrier.
"It is done." Vyswe'eyaga wipes the back of her hand across her brow, and the golden crown gleams as it shifts above her touch. "This won't hold for long; the crystals I used will run out of essence in minutes."
She then points at the two monuments on either side of the golden arcane circle, looking at Ike and the warriors. "Can you please move these? Over here. And bring them closer together."
Azikiwe takes care of the one on the right while Ike goes to the left. Following her instructions, they haul the massive stones out of the arcane circles and set them before her. Together, the structures rise into a makeshift doorway, wide enough for two to walk through side by side... and now that they are like that, it feels like I have seen them somewhere.
But setting that aside—
"Is this… some kind of teleportation doorway?" Ewa voiced exactly what was on my mind.
"Close enough, but not exactly." Vyswe'eyaga answers. She is meticulously examining the two structures as if checking for any imperfections.
"…seems to be functional."
"W-what are you going to do?" Sazayi asks. "Don't tell me you're going to open a rift in space when you just closed one."
"I don't know how to do that. However, what I will do is try to reboot this wrap waypoint. They somehow repurposed it to open a dimensional portal—something it was not designed for and should fundamentally be impossible to do—but I have confirmed it to be my people's technology."
I doubt most of the people present now understand half of what is talking about. I do remember one time when she mentioned those wrap waypoints. It was when we had first met, and she was complaining about having to travel on foot instead of using that locomotion-something or at least a wrap waypoint.
From what she had explained then, the wrap waypoint was the method to travel instantaneously to another lace, if that can still be called travelling, but was rarely used by the common folk.
"Is this safe? Cause I don't for you, but I don't want to end up in the same place as that thing, that was in the rift," N'jobu quips.
"I know how it works; I have studied the array structure and functioning of a warp waypoint. I just… never tampered with one before. It would have been wonderful if we had a waypoint tablet—but it'll be fine. In this particular case I simply need to connect this waypoint to the closest one. I-I can do that."
There is a tense moment of silence.
I'm not sure whether she was trying to reassure us, or herself, and honestly, I don't know what to think of either attempt. I can picture several scenarios which could go wrong even without understanding the full scope of her endeavour; for one, we could end up in volcano or at the bottom of the ocean if that was the 'nearest' warp waypoint to us.
"Welp, it's not like we have any other choice, do we?" As if to accentuate her words, a splintering sound comes out from the barrier, reminding us that we're about to be buried alive. Ewa saunters to Vyswe'eyaga to pat her shoulders with an encouraging smile. "I believe in you, Vyvy. I'm certain you can do it, especially with our lives in your hands."
Vyswe'eyaga responds with a nervous, whimpering laugh, before pulling all her focus. She crouches in front of the makeshift doorway—the… warp waypoint—her staff held straight with both hands, taking in a deep breath. A spell array slowly sprouts around her, grow until it reaches the warp waypoint and climbs along its surface. I instinctively step back as the array grows in size, not wanting to step on it. Vyswe'eyaga never mentioned if it was alright to step on an array when it is in the making process, but then again, she forgets to say a lot of things. The array soon stops expanding, though, spanning about two metres in circumference around her, and the two monuments are completely covered in its intricate web.
"…listen closely…" Vyswe'eyaga's voice is strained as she speaks. The array has begun flaring faintly. "When the waypoint activates… you have to go through quickly… I… won't be able to hold it for long."
I nod.
"And what of you?" I glance at Ike and soon find myself wondering the same thing. Ewa kneels next to Vyswe'eyaga and holds her tight. She nods. "I've got her. Don't worry."
Heavy groans rumble from the barrier. We don't have much time left. Meanwhile Vyswe'eyaga is deep in concentration.
My nails and palms hurt from tightening my fist so hard. I'm anxious, yes, but strangely enough, I don't feel as panic as I think I should be. Looking at the cloaked men, they look terrified while the people on our side —N'jobu, Sazayi, Ike, Ewa, Azikiwe, and Gamba… we're all pretty serene given our situation. Restless, but little more than that.
Do we have that much faith in Vyswe'eyaga's capabilities?
Then the air suddenly shifts, humming with a low, resonant vibration. Around the waypoint, dust lifts off the ground, and the space within it ripples, bending the darkness of the cave into a swirl of impossible colours. And as if wiping away a layer of dust from a canvas, the scenery on the other side changed from the dim cave to a vast expanse of greenery.
A gust of wind sweeps through the gate, carrying with it the scent of grass and flowers, and I watch mesmerized at it all. It suddenly reminds of the similar skill that giant spider performed back then, but compared to that, what Vyswe'eyaga has just accomplished is far more incredible—
"What are you waiting for!? Go!"
As if breaking free from a spell, we all return to our senses, and movement stirs. The cloaked men are the first to act, surging through the gate in troves—nearly shoving one another in their haste—while our group lingers, hesitant. We trade hesitant looks, waiting for someone to move first. In the end it is N'jobu who breaks the stalemate first; with a frustrated grunt he takes the first step, then Sazayi follows close behind.
"Let's not waste time, yeah," N'jobu mutters, and they both walk through the gate. It is a bit strange to witness it… It doesn't feel like they've been hurled kilometres away. It is more like they simply crossed through a door and are now in another room.
When they turn around, they gape at the portal in wonder and disbelief. Careful not to touch the threshold, they look to us. Sazayi beckons us urgently, "Come on, guys—what are you waiting for?"
Azikiwe and Gamba soon follow behind them; then I finally force myself to move as well. I pat Ike's shoulder as I walk by him, he hesitates. Across from us, Ewa nods with steady resolve, readying herself in a half crouching position behind Vyswe'eyaga. Only then does Ike decide to move…
I brace myself as we step through the portal… and then nothing—I wince, covering my eyes from the sudden brightness enveloping me. One moment I was in a collapsing cave under a submerged ancient city; then the next, I was inside an open, bare sort of shelter in the middle of… somewhere. And we are not alone. There are other people here, below the platform we are standing on, and they are staring at us as if we were ghosts that appeared out of nowhere—well… we did appear out of nowhere, so I guess I can understand their reaction.
This is going to be difficult to explain.
But I am pulled out of my musings when I notice the other's expression. They look—for lack of better word—frozen in place, stunned.
I feel like a bolder drop in my stomach.
"W-what?"
N'jobu points behind me, and I slowly rotate around, my heart thundering in my ears. Ike has his back to me, frozen as well, and there is a tension so palpable emanating from him that I don't find the strength to utter a word.
But it is not even Ike's menacing pressure that has chills running down my spine. It's the waypoint…
Where there should have been a passage opening to the bowels of the cave—Vyswe'eyaga still holding the link to this waypoint, Ewa at her side, ready to carry them both through the gate—there is only emptiness.
My breath stutters, and my hands won't stop trembling. I don't want to believe what I am seeing right now, and I hate the conclusion forming in my mind.
The portal has disappeared. Leaving the last two members of our group still trapped there. In a collapsing cave beneath a submerged ancient Nchāren city. Hundreds of kilometres away.
And we have no way to reach them.
~~~~~End Of The First Volume~~~~~