Runner Richinaria laughed to herself as the gigantic sapphire lotus beneath her feet flew through the clouds. The petals spun in slow rotations while trails of glowing runes followed behind her in the sky. The air above the clouds was freezing enough to sting against skin yet she looked completely unaffected as strands of her white hair danced wildly behind her.
Her ice blue eyes glimmered with the kind of thrill only someone born absurdly powerful could enjoy. Down below, the entire world was hidden beneath a sea of white clouds that stretched endlessly toward the horizon. The Crystal Lotus hummed softly beneath her, carrying her effortlessly while she spread her arms out and leaned back without a care in the world.
"This is way better than training."
The lotus tilted sideways, sending her gliding across the atmosphere in a reckless spiral that would've killed nearly anyone else with sheer acceleration alone. The winds screamed against her ears as she suddenly flipped upside down, or upright since the Hidden Citadel was upside down, balancing casually on one foot atop the spinning lotus.
Her father had told her more than once that flying carelessly at her level of power was a terrible habit but unfortunately for him, she had inherited the exact same appetite for dangerous fun that he tried very hard to pretend he never had. Besides, what was the point of becoming strong if she couldn't occasionally enjoy looking cooler than literally everyone else?
The clouds ahead suddenly changed as though something massive had torn through them. The playful smile on Runner's face slowly disappeared while the lotus beneath her feet gave a low vibration that almost felt like a warning. At first, she thought it might be a storm front because the sky darkened strangely despite the sunlight above, but then she noticed movement.
Long shapes twisted between the clouds with unnatural speed. They were far too massive to belong to any ordinary creature. The first one emerged so suddenly that even someone at Runner's level blinked in surprise as an enormous blue worm burst through the clouds. Its body stretched hundreds of meters long while rows upon rows of teeth lined a circular maw.
Its glowing red eyes locked onto her instantly and before she could even speak, another emerged beside it, and then another, until the sky itself felt infested.
"Oh. That's… probably bad."
The Dafes moved with horrifying speed as their gigantic bodies coiled through the air without wings. The atmosphere bent strangely around them while thunder cracked from the sheer force of their movement alone. Their blue flesh gleamed unnaturally beneath the sunlight. Every movement released waves of pressure strong enough to split nearby clouds apart into spiraling storms. Runner narrowed her eyes immediately because she recognized them.
They were God Ranked Creatures called Dafes.
"Oh, come on. Do God Ranked Creatures not have hobbies?"
The nearest Dafes lunged without warning but Runner had already moved before it even fully attacked as The Crystal Lotus twisted violently beneath her feet. Instead of retreating like most people would, she charged straight down, diving through the clouds so suddenly that a sonic boom exploded behind her. Wind tore against her body as her vision blurred from acceleration while the enormous worm missed her by mere meters, crashing through where she had been and violently disrupting the sky. Runner grinned because suddenly this had become fun.
"Ohhh, so we're doing this?"
Another Dafe shot after her with terrifying speed. The lotus spun beneath her feet. She suddenly turned left at an angle so sharp that the surrounding air was displaced, narrowly avoiding a blast of compressed force from the creature's charge while her body tilted sideways almost horizontally. Her control was extremely good. Runner moved naturally through it all like instinct itself had taken over.
The Dafes chased after her between clouds while enormous trails shot the sky behind them, but Runner only smiled wider. She suddenly shot upwards in a near-vertical climb, piercing through cloud layers while sunlight shone around her once more. Just as one of the worms opened its mouth to intercept her path, she abruptly killed her momentum. For a split second she hung motionless in the air before gravity caught her.
Runner dropped beneath it with terrifying precision, spinning around upside down, or upright since the realm is upside down, as her lotus rotated alongside her body while she slipped past rows of monstrous teeth close enough to feel heat pouring from the creature's mouth.
Another worm came from the side, trying to cut off her escape but Runner twisted hard and rolled through the sky in a violent corkscrew maneuver that looked almost identical to aerial combat footage from spacecraft simulations Veneri had once shown her for fun.
"Hah! Too slow!"
She shouted while narrowly slipping between two colliding Dafes as their giant bodies smashed into each other hard enough to create shockwaves across the clouds.
The momentary impact tore the sky apart as clouds burst outward in gigantic rings but Runner was already gone, flying low across the cloud ocean while the lotus skimmed dangerously close to the surface. Her eyes moved constantly while her instincts quietly mapped possibilities in her head. One worm suddenly burst from beneath the cloud layer directly ahead of her with its jaws already open.
Runner reacted instantly by flying up so violently that the lotus almost stood vertically. The movement came with such overwhelming acceleration that the surrounding air ignited around her in blue streaks.
The Dafes followed.
Runner abruptly twisted sideways and cut down her speed again, letting the giant worm fly before slamming her palm against the lotus petals. Thousands of glowing runes exploded behind her and suddenly The Crystal Lotus accelerated harder than before, flying sideways across the atmosphere in a maneuver so absurdly aggressive it left visible distortions in the sky itself. The Dafes scrambled to follow as they corrected course but for the first time Runner noticed something.
They were adapting.
"Oh, okay. Now this is getting fun."
Runner suddenly slowed down when a familiar sensation brushed against her consciousness. The invisible connection of the Sapphire Bond rung inside her mind. A moment later, Shimmer's voice echoed telepathically with unmistakable annoyance. somehow managing to sound irritated even without physically being present.
[Runner, where are you right now because you need to come back quickly. We're about to arrive and if you somehow got distracted again, I swear—]
Runner groaned dramatically while leaning on her lotus as another Dafes shrieked behind her. She rolled her eyes before lazily raising one hand as though she had absolutely no concern for the God Ranked creatures still trying to eat her alive.
"Ugh, fine. Teleport."
The moment the word left her lips, the surrounding sky distorted violently as Speech Manipulation activated instantly. Before other Dafes could even react, Runner disappeared completely from existence. In less than a blink, she appeared inside a luxurious bullet train carriage. Her lotus vanished beneath her feet as though it had never existed. Runner stretched lazily like she had merely returned from a short walk instead of outrunning multiple God Ranked creatures in the upper atmosphere.
"Racing the Dafes was fun."
Shimmer was already standing directly in front of her with crossed arms and an annoyed expression.
"Why do you always have to be so reckless? You disappeared for hours and knowing you, I already knew you were probably doing something insane."
Runner opened her mouth to defend herself, only for another voice to cut in before she could.
"It is not entirely her fault."
Natalis said calmly from nearby while elegantly crossing one leg over the other in her seat. Her golden hair glowed softly beneath the train lights while Denisia quietly sat beside her. Natalis looked at Shimmer with an amused smile that made her look far too entertained by this situation.
"To be fair, it is rather boring staying inside a train for weeks merely to arrive at Central Station, so I cannot particularly blame her for entertaining herself."
Shimmer let out an exhausted sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose before muttering complaints under her breath, though even she looked somewhat convinced after hearing Natalis say it out loud.
Runner casually dropped herself into a chair and leaned back so hard it nearly looked disrespectful with one leg hanging over the armrest while she stared lazily out the massive windows of the train.
The scenery outside had changed dramatically from endless wilderness to a massive glowing rail stretching endlessly across the horizon.
"Are we there already?"
Natalis turned toward the window before nodding.
"Indeed. The Central Station lies just ahead."