We needed to find the Knot. If we didn't hurry up, we were going to die here.
The cracks on the ground were larger now, with Elemental Magic bleeding through them in violent spurts.
We ran past rolling luggage, dodging fallen signage and Elemental bursts.
The itch in my chest was scraping at me from the inside.
The problem was the fog. This was an open runway after all—if we could see properly, it wouldn't be that hard to spot a fucking giant Knot in—
"There!" Llewellyn yelled, pointing ahead.
I yelled back in relief as I saw it too.
A huge Knot hung suspended in mid-air right behind a hangar. Maybe we could still do it.
[Warning: Distorted Realm stability at 22%!]
I activated Elemental Insight. The itch in my chest increased exponentially, then, as always, my vision blurred and sharpened until I could see the Threads converging into the Knot.
[System Notification: Elemental Insight is active! Flag for prioritization?]
The good news was that the only Element here was Air.
The bad news was that the amount of Threads was enormous.
"Ryo!" Llewellyn yelled.
Clearly, there was no time.
I flagged three Threads at once, materialized my sword, and we jumped into the fight.
Air monsters were the worst to pin down, and these weren't an exception—half-hawk, half tornado-like beings that tore toward us. But what choice did we have?
[Warning: Distorted Realm stability at 20%!]
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Penguin hadn't taken the man's disappearance well, and had jumped into the fray with me, seemingly eager to incinerate something.
"Keep flagging," Llewellyn said, destroying dozens of monsters in one fell swoop, switching Elements at a split-second notice and activating reactions. I wasn't even sure what Elemental combination he was using anymore. "There's no time!"
Right. Yes. I knew that, but if I kept going we'd be surrounded.
Or… maybe not?
Llewellyn drew three geometric patterns in the air and sent three different Elements out in combination, to swipe the area like a boomerang.
Uh. Well, damn.
I sent Water out on the wake of his Fire, letting it crash down and evaporate the remaining monsters as I moved in and out of the expanded state to summon it, but it wasn't helping as much as I'd have liked.
I wasn't fast, and the air creatures could just slip away. But more importantly—
[Warning: Distorted Realm stability at 15%!]
"I'll just have to tackle the Knot as is," Llewellyn yelled. "We don't have time."
The Knot wasn't thinning fast enough.
"Just another one," I shouted back. "Let me try and unravel a bigger section!"
However, it was easier said than done. Due to the tangle and the fog, even muting Threads didn't give me a clear view and I couldn't just indulge in non-strategic flagging at this point—we were running out of time.
I dodged a collapsing canopy.
[Warning: Distorted Realm stability at 12%!]
The entire hangar collapsed sideways. Metal groaned and tore apart.
I flagged two more Threads, and Air creatures burst forth—translucent hawks again, this time with razor wings, diving straight for me.
Penguin chirped, almost a shriek, and launched himself at them. They collided mid-air in a burst of Fire and wind-like feathers seemed to cascade down before vanishing.
I was still fighting, but I could barely see anything and I was still trying to scan the Threads too.
Llewellyn's sword carved through creature after creature, but more kept coming.
[Warning: Distorted Realm stability at 10%!]
"Ryo!" Llewellyn yelled.
I flagged more. There were too many Threads and not enough time.
I stumbled, caught myself, and kept moving.
The itch in my chest was burning.
"The Knot's still too dense," I shouted.
[Warning: Distorted Realm stability at 9%!]
The world around us was coming apart. The boundary between buildings and open space blurred.
Gravity seemed optional in places and I saw a parked shuttle starting to float.
"It's not that bad," Llewellyn said. "I can sever it."
Shit, shit.
I flagged three more Threads and hacked at the creatures with all my might.
[Critical Warning: Distorted Realm stability at 5%!]
The ground gave a catastrophic lurch.
A hand caught my wrist. Llewellyn hauled me back, not even breaking his fighting rhythm.
"I need to sever it! Now!"
"Like last time then!" I yelled back.
I'd be damned if I let him do it alone! Besides—
"We have a better chance to lessen the shockwave if we combine our Magic!"
"Fine!" Llewellyn said.
[Critical Warning: Distorted Realm stability at 2%!]
Llewellyn summoned a gust of wind to carry us upward and I caught Penguin mid-flight. I had intended to just tuck him in my pocket to shield him from the shockwave, but he had different ideas, reached my sleeve and, like last time, turned into a fish.
Ah! Alright then!
[Critical Warning: Distorted Realm stability at 1%!]
I recalibrated my sword, swung it up, and let Water flow.
"Now!" Llewellyn yelled.
We both hit the Knot at once.
The shockwave knocked us both flat, all the Threads bursting. The explosion reverberated through the runway, knocking planes sideways, swiping the fog away, and hitting the distant terminals full blast.
Then—
Silence.
I opened my eyes to find myself lying on concrete, Penguin flapping on my chest, still in his fish form.
[System Notification: Distorted Realm neutralized!
Threat contained. +3,500 Coins awarded!]
Fuck.
All my muscles ached, my throat still hurt, and my eyes stung. But we were alive.
I reached for Penguin and he morphed back into a penguin under my palm, shaking a bit.
Ah. He'd been really brave, but he still found fighting scary, it seemed.
I patted him carefully, then blinked up at Llewellyn, who was looming over me extending a hand.
I guided Penguin to my coat pocket, then accepted his hand and heaved myself up.
I tested my weight on both legs and retrieved my sword. Nothing broken, it seemed, though my knees felt like they'd been replaced with jelly.
"Are you alright?" Llewellyn asked, brushing dust off his sleeve.
"Yeah," I said, steadying myself against what remained of a baggage cart.
Well, sort of. My ears were still ringing.
Llewellyn frowned, and threw a Potion at me.
"Drink it," he said.
I scanned it. Oh, come on.
"Divine Restoration Draught?" I said. "It's not that bad."
"You haven't seen your throat," Llewellyn said, gaze dark. He reached out with a hand, then seemed to change his mind at the last second, his ears going red. His gaze, however, remained dark with anger. "Drink it."
"Alright, alright," I said, uncorking the vial. "I'll drink it. But I'm fine."
Llewellyn watched me gulp it down then seemed to relax a bit.
Well. Meanwhile, he didn't have as much as a scratch.
I looked around.
The runway was back to normal now. Or… well, there were no more floating shuttles or gravity-less zones, but the ground was still cracked. I'd be surprised if they'd be able to use this runway any time soon.
"What a mess," I said.
In the distance, glass from the terminal windows lay shattered on the ground, reflecting the early morning light.
Just then Penguin let out a loud chirp and… sprinted off.
What!
"Penguin!" I yelled, but he just kept running faster.
He hadn't even turned into a fire fox this time—how could a penguin be so fast?!
Llewellyn frowned. He was probably also remembering the last time this had happened, at the cabin.
"Let's follow him," he said.
We ran after Penguin across the runway. He was pointing toward a hangar on the other side, skidded around it, and when we finally reached him—
What the—!
"Is that a dragon?!" I asked, flabbergasted.