After scrambling up and getting dressed quickly, Llewellyn, Penguin and I were teleported to—uh.
"Where are we?" I asked, looking around.
Or... well, trying to.
Everything was enveloped in a thick fog. Our shields were up, but we still couldn't see much through the gales of Elemental wind.
"Not sure," Llewellyn said, as we found cover behind a wall. "The System isn't responsive."
Damn it, not again.
I tucked Penguin safely into my pocket.
The System had retrieved my Seashell White Trench Coat while Llewellyn was getting Lumos into the Core Partition, since I obviously hadn't been wearing it when I'd been whisked to Llewellyn's place the previous night, and I was suddenly grateful for the thermal regulation, plus having a place to hide Penguin in.
"It must be an airport runway somewhere," Llewellyn added after a moment, his gaze moving behind me.
What?
Oh.
I turned around and immediately saw what he meant.
Airplanes were being dragged away by the strong winds, their huge bodies sliding across the runway like toys.
…Damn. It looked like our shields were better than I thought.
-
[System Notification: Location detected! Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris — Runway 09R.
System Functionality: Partial. Some features may be delayed or unavailable.
Recommended Action: Proceed with caution.]
-
...France?!
Well. Not that knowing that changed much. Distorted Realms were Distorted Realms, regardless of their locations.
The fact that this was an airport runway, on the other hand, was more concerning.
Somewhere to the side, we could see movement.
Figures were walking slowly in the areas protected by the wind, stepping between cones and maintenance equipment, but their actions were… weird.
A man nearby was moving his hands as if holding landing batons, waving invisible aircraft into place. His eyes were glazed over.
A few others seemed to be loading luggage onto an invisible cart.
"They're caught in delusions," Llewellyn said.
Well, fuck.
"How many?" I asked.
This was tricky. We couldn't evacuate the whole airport—it would take too long and we'd risk the Distorted Realm expanding before collapsing, killing everyone in its radius.
But we had to clear out this area at least. Leaving those people there was just too dangerous. The wind was too strong and they didn't even seem aware of their surroundings. Besides, if the wind was able to drag airplanes like that, how many people had been blown away already? I didn't even want to think about it.
Nearby, I could count at least seven—no, eight—people moving slowly, as if in a dream. One of them was currently trying to fuel a plane that wasn't there.
"Hard to tell," Llewellyn said. "The Realm's boundaries aren't clear without the System and this place is massive."
That was a good point.
I tried the interface again, but the result was the same. Fucking hell.
Red and white edge lights could be seen blinking through the fog, creating weak halos. In the distance, the terminal buildings looked almost ghost-like.
"I'll handle that group first," Llewellyn said. "Stay within sight. If anything feels wrong, call out."
"Alright," I said. I mean, I wasn't about to go anywhere—this was a Distorted Realm after all. "I'll be here hanging out with the haunted luggage."
Llewellyn snorted. For a moment I was almost sure he was about to reach out and—and what?
In the end, he glanced at Penguin—who chirped from my pocket—before jumping up in a burst of wind, navigating his way through the gales battering the runway.
Damn it.
What could I do in the meantime?
The best thing here would be to try to sense where the Knot was, so we could tackle it as quickly as possible, but I normally needed to be closer before I was able to sense it—and I had no idea in which direction to move.
The itch in my chest was there, but not strong enough to guide me anywhere yet—and I'd need to get closer to the Knot before my Elemental Insight would kick in properly.
"Stay hidden," I told Penguin. "I don't want to see you fly away like a balloon."
Penguin chirped again, holding tight to the hem of my pocket with his little flippers.
I tried to open the System window and figure something out, but the glitching was too extreme.
I was really flying blind here. Even expanding out of the boundaries of my body to get a better sense of the Distorted Realm's layout didn't seem to work. There was too much chaotic Magic covering this space, and the fog made everything feel eerie and disconnected.
A maintenance truck rolled past, driver's seat empty, pushed by the wind like everything else. It crashed into a baggage cart, making me jump, the sound immediately swallowed up by the wind.
Fucking hell. It was like being dropped into a ghost story.
Unfortunately, as soon as Llewellyn was distant enough—
"GHKKK!"
An arm locked around my throat, crushing the air from my lungs.
I choked, trying to twist around, but the grip didn't budge.
"I've been trying to get into one of these for months," a voice hissed in my ear—clearly male, if the strength currently crushing my throat had left any doubts. "I knew Llewellyn would be here, but both of you? This is excellent."
What the— Fuck, I couldn't breathe.
I clawed at his arm, but his forearm only pressed harder against my windpipe. I elbowed him as hard as I could, connecting with his ribs, but he didn't budge.
Was he military?!
"Didn't expect much," the man said, choking me harder. "Still. Disappointing."
I really couldn't breathe. I flailed and my vision blurred.
Also… According to the System, we were in France—so why the hell did this guy have an Innishean accent?!
It had all happened so quickly I hadn't even been able to summon Water. However, Penguin let out a screech of war and set the man on Fire in an instant.
Fuck. Amazing.
The guy shouted, clearly taken by surprise, and the smell of burning cloth started filling the air. If he'd seen the clip in which I used Water on the reporter, he might not have expected Fire—which was perfect.
I slipped free, twirled around and—gasping still—materialized my sword and jumped him, impaling his wrist through to the ground.
"You fucking asshole," I spat out, coughing.