There may also be some inaccuracies, since English is not my native language.
Essentially, TBATE is first translated from English into my native language - and in that process, some details are already altered to make it more understandable for us. Now I'm taking that adapted (and somewhat distorted) version, revising it, rewriting it, and then translating it back into English.
I hope you'll point out any mistakes in the text that I might have missed.
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Lucius Zogratis's POV
By the time the hail had stopped and the wind had died down, we were practically buried alive in the snow again, as the constant bombardment had caused the snow roof to collapse on top of us, and the blizzard had blown fresh snow into our hole.
You could say that this snow protected us from the wind, though it left us with less space. I froze, holding my breath, as I made my way to the surface. I was enveloped by the quiet, frosty air and the mesmerizing picture of a snow-white field that unfolded around me. The clear, sunless sky, like a gleaming blue canvas, was painted with broad swaths of green, yellow, and purple.
The dazzlingly bright landscape sparkled beneath the sunless sky, and, squinting, I was able to take in the scenery fully for the first time. God Step led me past the crater where the dome and portal were hidden, into a snowy valley that stretched all the way to the horizon. Nevertheless, I was pleased to see a large crater in the distance.
Closer to the crater, jagged, broken edges of sharp rocks and deep gorges appeared, while behind us the plain continued to rise gradually until it turned into distant, misty mountains.
"How beautiful," Caera said beside me, having half-pulled herself out of the snow.
"Brr'ahk!
Suddenly, a piercing chirp rang in my ears; it was so unexpected and close that, on reflex, I raised one hand over my head and the other over Caera to protect us from an attack from the sky. Caera lost her balance from my sudden movements and, grabbing onto me, fell into the snow, kicking up a cloud of white flakes.
Damn it, I pulled my hand back, cursing myself.
The beautiful scenery had distracted me for a second, and it was precisely at that moment that this damn bird appeared. A Spear Beak, huh?
Behind me, I heard the flapping of wings and another unpleasant screech.
Spinning around in the deep snow, I spotted a tall, slender, bird-like creature just a meter behind us. Long, slender legs as thin as reeds, a teardrop-shaped body covered in glossy white feathers, broad wings pressed tightly against its sides, and a gracefully curved neck.
Now its neck was turned to the side in a comical manner. And two bright purple eyes glowed behind its pitch-black beak, which resembled the tip of a spear. The beak opened and snapped shut twice, sending a sharp crack echoing throughout the crater.
I decided to wait, since I saw no point in trying to say anything first, and Caera had already opened her lips at that very moment. "Um, hi?" she said quietly.
"Um, hi?" it mimicked in reply with its high-pitched, squeaky voice. The aether beast, resembling a heron, stepped aside, made a series of shuffling movements back and forth, like some unknown dance, and flapped its broad wings to fly a few meters to the left.
"It looks more like he's writing something," Arthur mused aloud, and judging by his expression, he was talking to Regis. As if to reinforce this thought, the creature pointed its sharp beak at the claw prints in the snow.
"What is it writing?" Caera asked as she grumbled her way out of the snow. "Phew."
Having freed myself from the snowy shackles, I moved closer to those prints. Arthur was already standing nearby, also examining the writing, but unfortunately neither he nor I could make out a single word.
Caera appeared beside me, sticking her hands out from under her sleeves and slowly rubbing them together. Only now did I notice that it wasn't as cold as before. The temperature remained below freezing, but it was well within the normal range for anyone dressed warmly, not to mention someone in 6th-rank gear.
"What do you think it's trying to tell us?" she asked, looking at the writing on the crystalline snow.
"No idea," I replied, looking at what it had written.
"No idea," it mimicked again, nervously hopping from side to side. Then he turned and flew five meters away, landing on the ground, where he flapped one wing toward the mountain range in the distance.
"Maybe it wants us to follow it," Caera said as we exchanged glances.
"Do we have any other options?" I asked, looking resigned to our fate.
She nodded and took a few steps, crunching through the hard crust of snow. The wind had turned the top layer of deep, loose snow into a dense crust, making it difficult to walk but preventing us from sinking headfirst into the snow.
Arthur had been talking to Regis the whole time and kept glancing at that heron. I hesitated to establish a mental connection, as I might accidentally reveal that I knew this zone, which could make our relationship a little worse.
And I don't need that. I need a strong Arthur who understands the aether better and actually increases my own knowledge and power.
As soon as we got close enough to the bird, it flapped its broad wings and flew off twenty meters, where it began to wait for us to catch up.
This happened over and over again as we continued to walk silently behind our guide. Our path led us up the crater's slopes into a narrow gorge, then along a natural trail that wound its way high up the mountain through jagged, dark boulders. Despite the sub-zero temperatures, we actually warmed up during this difficult ascent, and I didn't have to channel aether through myself to protect against the cold.
Eventually, we reached a point where the trail turned into a steep vertical climb. Our guide scaled the sheer cliff to the top and sat down on a small ledge, waiting for us.
The top of the cliff was only about twenty-five meters away, and the weathered rock offered plenty of footholds and handholds.
"I'll wait for you at the top," I told them, and immediately vanished from their sight, reappearing at the very summit and looking down mockingly at Caera, who, half-heartedly, began to climb up.
After frequent training with God Step and obtaining the GodRune of Theft-which, for maximum effect, must be used in conjunction with God Step-my mastery of God Step had increased to the point where I could teleport six times in a row over a distance of about 70 meters, and even after that, I would still have about 30% of my aether remaining in my core. And yet, at the very beginning, I could barely take two 10-meter steps before running out of breath.
"Um… can I ask to go up too?" Caera asked, looking at me, her ruby eyes taking on a puppy-like gleam.
I smiled weakly and, under her hopeful gaze, turned around and took a step away from the edge of the cliff.
Sure, I could lift her up too, but why would I do that? Let them climb on their own; I need to conserve my aether…
Hehe, who am I kidding?
Under Caera's indignant gaze, I sat on the edge of the cliff, dangling one leg and resting my head on the other, simply watching as the two of them climbed up. And although Arthur had already calmed down and could use God Step effectively, he didn't, since it was still more aether-intensive than simple rock climbing.
Once everyone was at the top, I turned toward the village. Before us lay the edge of the cliff, which gave way to a neat lowland surrounded by sharp peaks of black stone. Small huts crowded the entire basin, each built from woven sticks, branches, and thick brown grass.
Most had scraps of cloth hanging over their doorways, decorated with markings that resembled bird footprints.
Several members of the bird tribe were wandering around the village, and they all stopped to look us over, their bright eyes shining in the gloomy hollow. Most of them were completely white, with black legs and beaks, but some had mottled gray feathers, and one stood out with its coal-black plumage.
Arthur Leywin POV
Our guide clicked his beak a few times and cawed something that sounded like words to me, then flapped one wing in our direction, as if to say, "Follow me."
Having come this far, we could no longer turn back, so we did as he asked. He led us through the center of the village to the largest hut, which looked like a nest. The other villagers watched us with a mix of curiosity and fear; their darting glances made that clear as we passed by. One pair even took off, soaring above the mountain over us, where I noticed small nests hidden among the rocks.
When we approached the main hut, which stood at the end of the ravine, built right against a black stone wall, a truly ancient creature pulled back a gray-blue curtain and waddled toward us.
Our guide began to click and caw rapidly, occasionally turning toward us to point at us with its wings or beak.
I watched the old bird closely as it listened to the guide. Its white feathers had turned gray and fallen out in many places, and pink spots had formed on its thin, trembling, and crooked legs. Several of its claws were broken, and a lightning-shaped crack ran from the tip of its beak to where it disappeared into rough skin. Three deep pink scars crisscrossed its face, leaving one eye glassy white rather than the deep purple of the other.
After our guide finished speaking, the elder turned to me and bowed slightly.
In a voice as old and broken as his beak, he said, "Welcome, ascenders, to the village of the Spear Beak tribe. The Ancients told me to expect your arrival."
I stared at the old bird, stunned by his eloquent speech.
Caera, without a moment's hesitation, returned a deep bow and replied politely, "Thank you, Elder, for the warm welcome."
A light nudge to my leg drew my attention to the Alacryan aristocrat, who was looking at me and signaling with her eyes for me to follow her example.
Lucius stood to my left with his head slightly bowed; his face had once again become an unreadable mask of calm.
"Thank you," I said evenly, bowing my head as well.
"We have no choice; we're in a pretty vulnerable position right now, so stay alert," I warned Regis.
"Makes sense. Want me to go out? Scare them a little?"
"No, just be on the lookout. You'll know when your help is needed."
"Come on, come on," the elder of the Spear Beak tribe cried out shrillly, waving a wing toward his hut. "Come in. Sit down. Speak. Then you can join the Spear Beaks for the feast, if you like."
"I apologize, Elder, but we're in a hurry, and we just need some information," replied Lucius's voice, calm to the point of trembling. He turned his head toward him, along with Caera, who reacted to his voice like an alcoholic to alcohol.
My insides clenched at his gaze-a calm, analytical gaze that didn't seem cold or intrusive, but simply like sincere interest from the outside-fixed on the elder, trying to find any inconsistencies or deception in his words. I'd seen that look a couple of times before, and it still unsettled me; it felt as if he were trying to pry open your skull without touching you directly.
Quickly pulling myself together, I shifted my attention to the elder.
"You wish to activate the portal to the outside, do you not?" the elder asked, tilting his head to one side.
Hiding my surprise that he was aware of our motives, I calmly replied, "Yes. We would like to activate the portal so we can leave."
"If that is the case, you must first listen and learn," said the elder, scratching a lightning-shaped scar on his beak with his wing.
"Then we humbly accept your offer," replied Lucius, exhaling weakly and scratching the back of his head under Caera's strange gaze.
I knew what he was doing-a posture of submission so the old bird would feel everything was under his control and relax a little. I, too, had used such tactics before, rarely, very rarely, but I had used them nonetheless.
"All right, all right!" The old bird's mismatched eyes narrowed, and I sensed a smile as he flapped his wings toward his hut.
Glancing back one last time, I scanned the birds watching our backs, and we entered the hut.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the change in lighting. Inside the Spear Beak elders' hut, it was quite dark; light seeped in only through the cracks between the wooden poles and from the edges of the curtain covering the doorway.
The hut's furnishings were simple: a large bed made of feathers, brown grass, and tufts of fluffy white fur, taking up the entire space, and a single copper basin with water frozen on the surface, set near the door.
Hanging from the ends of the wooden branches were what looked like trophies: several necklaces made of large fangs and small bones, the pelt of a four-limbed creature I couldn't identify, and even cat skulls, neatly lined up in a row.
"Our feathered friends have rather strange taste in home decor," thought Regis.
"We can't be sure of their friendliness just yet," I warned, surveying the items in the room. My gaze fell again on Lucius, who looked somewhat lazy, but I saw how his eyes were subtly scanning and analyzing every part of the interior-if you could call it that. Shuddering inwardly, I looked away from Lucius to the necklace made of claws. "Don't they resemble the ones lying by the altar?"
When the elder shuffled over to his bed and sat down, tucking his thin legs beneath him, I was able to get a better look at his clawed paws.
'It seems you're right,' Regis confirmed. 'And now the main question: who left them there—them or the bears? I can pred...'
It was as if my ears had been blocked when I saw something even more interesting. As the elder fiddled about in his nest, for a moment I caught a purple flicker of the aether beneath the bed. Some kind of relic was hidden there; I was sure of it. Perhaps even a piece of the portal.
"Sit down, sit down," croaked the old bird, sweeping its wing over the shack.
Without letting on that I'd discovered anything, I sat down with Lucius and Caera on the hard-packed ground near the bed, figuring it would be rude of us to intrude on the elder's personal space. Not knowing where to start, I waited for Spear Beak to continue the conversation.
"Silence is wisdom," the old bird said with an air of importance, nodding his black beak up and down. "Much, much time has passed since the last ascendant visited us."
"We have many questions for you, Elder, but first, how should we address you?" I asked politely.
The old gray bird clicked its beak and screeched in a way I wouldn't even dare to imitate. Then it laughed with a sound like millstones grinding grain. "In your language, that means 'Old Broken Beak.'"
I smiled. His name described his appearance quite well. Raising my hand to my chest, I said, "And I am Ar…" I stopped mid-sentence, nearly revealing my real name.
"This is Grey," Caera continued, glancing at me suspiciously. "And I'm Caera. It's an honor for us to meet you, Old Broken Beak."
"Lucius. Nice to meet you," Lucius said simply.
"How is it that you speak our language?" I asked, hoping to quickly divert attention from my recent blunder.
Despite our eagerness to leave this zone as quickly as possible, the Spear Beaks aroused genuine curiosity in me. Since I was reborn in this world, I had yet to encounter mana or aether beasts with such high intelligence as these creatures possessed.
Just how powerful were the Djinn, if they had created intelligent life forms simply to organize their trials? It was simply unimaginable.
"One Ascendant wise enough to listen taught me language lessons when I was just learning to fly," the elder clicked his beak, ruffled his feathers, and pecked at the bedding beneath him before continuing. "I preserved that knowledge and shared it with every Ascendant who sought us out... ...or tried to find us. However, most were not wise enough to heed the words."
I nodded at every word, picturing various powerful Ascendants who had reached this zone only to kill every aether beast they encountered, without giving a thought to the fact that they weren't monsters.
'But if they're capable of holding back Ascendants strong enough to reach this zone…'
'Then that means they're not the weaklings they seem,' Regis finished.
"I'm grateful that you've come here with wisdom," the old bird continued. "We need you, and you need us."
Caera leaned forward, her gaze piercing Spear Beak's eyes. "Do you know where the pieces of the broken portal are?"
"Yes. The clans have taken them for themselves, but they won't give them to you," Old Broken Beak shook his wrinkled head, slicing through the air with his long beak like a sharp blade.
"The clans?" Caera asked.
"Yes, the four clans and the wild things, mindless beasts-they have one too, but they're constantly hunting the others. They're always alert, fearless, and eternally greedy," the elder shifted forward, shifting his gaze from Caera to Lucius to me and back. "But the clans are even worse. Stupid. Tyrannical. The Four Fists, the Ghost Bears, the Shadow Claws... and the only ones who have attained wisdom-the Spear Beaks."
"The Ghost Bears?" I asked, recalling the invisible bear Lucius had clashed with inside the dome, which had remained far below at the bottom of the crater. With a quick, imperceptible movement, I glanced at Lucius and quickly looked away from his eyes, which narrowed to the size of needles and then widened back to normal... as much as that is even possible for eyes that are more feline than human.
"Huge, ravenous monsters," the elder said, snapping me out of my thoughts; his feathers bristled with excitement. "Ghost Bears. Killing for fun, hiding in impenetrable blizzards, raiding in the dead of night. "If you encounter one," he moved even closer to me, his beak almost pressing against my face, "kill it immediately, or you will become their prey forever. Ghost Bears never give up until they've finished what they started."
I nodded, trying to hide the skeptical look on my face. The Ghost Bear we'd encountered didn't look like a deadly killing machine. In fact, it was a curious and cautious beast that had fled without hurting anyone.
"Maybe he was scared of us," Regis pointed out. "Ghost Bears, or whatever they're called—they don't often see people, let alone those who can easily perceive their true nature, like us."
"Yeah, you're probably right," I admitted, "but I'll stick to my opinion." I didn't want to reveal my knowledge of the Ghost Bears, so I asked the Spear Beak elder to tell me more about the other clans.
"The rest… are no better. The Four Fists clan are similar to you, but not exactly. Short legs, long arms, thick as an adult Spear Beak's chest. Wrinkled, ugly faces, with teeth like this," using his wings, Old Broken Beak mimicked large, hideous tusks or fangs.
"The Shadow Claws live for battle, for killing," Old Broken Beak pointed to a row of cat skulls. "They hunt us, climbing the mountains and knocking our eggs from their nests."
Caera's face darkened, and she shook her head in horror when she heard the part about the eggs. "A nightmare. I'm so sorry, Brokenbeak."
"You said we need each other," Lucius reminded him, wanting to steer the conversation back to the topic of the portal fragments. "And as I understand it, each clan keeps one fragment of this zone's portal. Why?"
Old Broken Beak closed his eyes and slowly shook his head from side to side, as if a melody were playing in his head. And when he finally opened his violet eyes, a sense of something ancient began to emanate from him, a weariness that enveloped him like an aura.
"I've thought about this for a long, long time. In the past, the Spear Beaks wished to teach other clans wisdom, but we abandoned those attempts when we realized they were incapable of learning it. They will not give you the fragments. You will have to destroy them. All of them. Take the fragments. And when you have gathered three, I will give you the last one, which the Spear Beaks have humbly guarded."
"Forgive my bluntness, but why can't you just give her to us right away?" Caera asked, watching the elder closely.
His neck twisted at such an angle that his head was practically upside down. "If the Ascendants fail, if they die in the snow, fall before the claws, teeth, and fury of the other clans, then we will lose our own piece of the Creators' temple. That is not wise."
Though I understood the meaning of his words, one of them left me dumbfounded. "The Creators?"
His long black beak rose and fell. "The other clans sense the energy of the Creators in the relics, which is why they hide them and worship them. They are too foolish and depraved to ponder the true purpose of the fragments."
It seems these clans have built their mythology around the genies, the dome, and the arch inside the dome. If the portal's fragments emit aether and these creatures can sense it, then there's nothing crazy about their desire to get their hands on the remaining fragments.
"You need the Creators' gifts to heal the portal. Are you capable of doing that?"
I nodded. Just like in the hall of mirrors, we ended up in the snowy zone only because I already possessed the abilities necessary to navigate it.
'Trial after trial,' I muttered to myself.
I kept an eye on Lucius out of the corner of my eye as he leaned back comfortably, coming to some conclusion, Old Broken Beak suddenly let out several deep, strange sounds and clicked his beak loudly a couple of times, and a few seconds later, as we watched him, another similar sound came, differing only in that it was livelier and not so measured
Old Broken Beak turned his gaze to all of us and nodded once, measuredly. "Redwing and True Feather have offered you their nest so you can rest and regain your strength. And if you ever wish to go to Shadow Claw Village, Swiftsure will show you the way. All right?"
"Thank you very much for your great help and wisdom, but we do not need it… if possible, we would like to begin our journey to the village of the Shadow Claws," Lucius said in a respectful, calm tone. Since Caera was not starving and we had all slept quite recently, I also believed it would be better for us to set out rather than linger in this village.
Old Broken Beak shifted his gaze from Lucius to me and then to Caera; upon receiving our nods, his feathers fluffed up slightly and his beak made a strange clicking sound a couple of times. "All right, all right—you're full of spirit! That's how it should be for those who wish to gather all the gifts of the creators. Well then, you'll set off with Swiftsure, but know that you're always welcome in our village, and if anything happens, you can come back here to catch your breath."
"Thank you so much," Caera nodded.
"Thanks for your help," Lucius replied, starting to get up.
"Of course, Broken Beak," I said, also beginning to stand up. Since Lucius has found something, we just need to wait; in any case, he'll say or confirm something soon.
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Swiftsure stood near the hut, waiting patiently. He was ready to set off. However, before leaving the village, Old Broken Beak decided to share a bit of wisdom with us as a farewell.
"Swiftsure is quick and wise. He will show the way to the other clans, but in battle against Shadow Claw or Four Fists, Spear Beak will not prevail," he warned grimly. "Don't count on them hearing your words. And don't hesitate. Their language is violence, and you must speak it if you wish to leave this place. Return with the rest of the group, and you'll get the last one."
Finishing his parting words, he ordered Swiftsure to lead us down from the mountaintop. Several Spear Beaks accompanied us all the way to the cliff's edge, shouting and snapping their claws, apparently to boost our spirits.
I walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Lucius approached Caera, who was about to descend, pulled her back, and wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Um, s-sorry?" Caera stammered, turning her head toward Lucius.
Regis whistled in my head. Turning to me and then to the guide, Lucius said, "See you at the bottom."
I watched as the aether white bird tilted its head in confusion before Lucius jumped off the cliff with Caera.
The quiet squeak of the Alacryan Aristocrats turned into a scream of terror as they hurtled straight toward a stone slab thirty meters from the summit.
Just as they were about to be smashed to a pulp, Lucius vanished and then reappeared, coming to a stop on that stone slab.
It was a soft, almost silent landing. The momentum they had built up during the entire flight was completely absorbed.
"Oh…" Regis muttered, completely stunned. "I suppose that was one way to do it."
Without a moment's hesitation, I repeated the same move and jumped; five meters above the stone slab, I activated the God Step and gently materialized half a meter away from Lucius and Caera. I turned my head toward them and was met with an amusing sight.
Caera had buried her head in Lucius's chest, dug her nails into his skin, and refused to let go, even when he released her.
"It's okay, you can go," he said, even as her horns dug deeper into his neck.
Caera looked down, trembling, and pushed herself away from him once she was sure they weren't floating, stomping her foot on the ground.
"H-how did we… No, just now… you!" Caera huffed angrily, glaring at him, but she didn't go any further than the angry glare and stomping her foot on the ground.
Swiftsure landed near us. Flapping his large wings, he looked at us with renewed interest.
"Shadow Claws?" he squeaked, as if asking a question, but I still didn't understand what he meant.
Instead of me, the answer came from Lucius, who walked up to him and nodded emphatically.
Receiving the answer, the guide let out a guttural trill and led us up the trail.
He led us swiftly up the mountainside, further and further away from the village of Spear Beak.
We followed our guide closely. The trail we were walking on led us along the edge of seemingly endless mountain ranges that surrounded the crater from which we had first emerged. The sky remained clear and cloudless, with temperatures ranging from minus five to minus ten degrees Celsius.
The Swiftsure, who had been flying above us most of the time, landed ahead of us. His feet never once sank into the crusted surface of the snow.
He turned to look at Lucius, clicking his beak twice.
"Shadow Claws," he said, then raised his wings.
I nodded in understanding, and at that moment Lucius made his move. With a sudden movement, he appeared right next to Swiftsure and grabbed his thin, long neck, then with a sharp motion and a characteristic crack, snapped his neck.
Swiftsure flapped his wings a couple of times, scattering white feathers, made a creaking sound as if trying to breathe, and froze.
Swiftsure jerked his wings several times in convulsive spasms, sending a cloud of white feathers into the air, where they slowly drifted down over the crusted snow. A scraping, hoarse sound escaped from his throat, as if he was trying to draw in a breath but couldn't. His body tensed for a moment, then went limp, and he lay completely still.