The silence after the battle wasn't silence. It was the screams. An endless swarm of screams.
A thousand of them, trapped inside my skull, clawing at the walls of my mind, trying to get out.
I wasn't in the aftermath of something or anything, not really. I was watching it. Like a nightmare playing out in real time inside my head. It was real.
Too real.
I could feel it. The heat burning my lungs and the cold lump in the back of my throat. The sensation of weathered leather grip of a half-broken sword in my hand, and the constant agony of a hundred thousand needles prickling in each and every corner of my frail, battered body.
There were bodies everywhere, twisted and broken, faces frozen in a rictus of agony. The thick and metallic stench of blood filled the air, coating my tongue with a phantom taste of iron.
And him. I saw him. The bearded man.
A shadow at the edge of the insensate carnage that coalesced from the dust and smoke. He didn't possess a clear image, no, more like a pressure, a suffocating weight in the pit of my stomach.
I stood there, paraplegic, as he moved.
The sickening crunch of bone, the rumbling of thunder, the heat of energy being released, the radiation akin to a hundred tsar bombs blasting in a single point, the wet, tearing and then melted, spluttering sound of flesh… I couldn't describe it.
What he did to the children… It was surprising. Not revolting, but surprising.
The acts against people who had already died as he devoured them—literally, it became a stain on the inside of my eyelids, a darkness I couldn't blink away.
He was…a cannibal.
Disjointed images—memories, flashed through my mind.
A small hand, reaching from beneath a pile of rubble. Empty eyes staring up at the indifferent sky.
The glint of a blade, reflecting the dying light.
The cries, though silent, were deafening. I didn't try to block them out. There was no point. The horror was already inside, a cold, hard knot in my gut.
Time lost all meaning. I was trapped in a vortex of suffering, a swirling maelstrom of death and despair. I felt myself slipping, the world around me fading into a blur of grey and red.
It was like I was one of them.
Then, a touch. Gentle. A hand on my arm, pulling me back from the abyss.
"Arthur."
The voice cut through the fog of horror; a lifeline thrown into the churning waters of my mind.
"Arthur, please, wake up."
My eyes snapped open, the world rushing back into focus with jarring clarity. I was no longer on the battlefield, but in… where? The details were hazy, the surroundings blurred, but the presence before me was sharp, vivid, real.
Astrid.
Her face was lined with worry, her dark blue eyes, normally as bright as a clear day sky, were now brimming with tears. The white braid was a tangled mess, framing her face like a halo of sorrow.
Those eyes, filled with a depth of emotion I could barely comprehend, held mine with an intensity that made me flinch.
"Astrid?" My voice was rough, cracked, barely a whisper. The name felt foreign on my tongue, a relic from a life I no longer recognized. It felt like an eternity.
"Shut up..."
She threw her arms around me, holding me so tightly I could feel the frantic beating of her heart against my chest. The warmth of her embrace, the solid reality of her body against mine.
"Astrid…" I called out, getting subtly uncomfortable from how close she was. Well, close would be an understatement.
Her arms tightened around my neck, and she hugged me harder, the hiccups coming louder in my ear. "They're pressing against me."
I choked on a breath as Astrid bashed the side of her head into my temple, hugging me even tighter, sniffling every now and then. I was about to tell her it made me uncomfortable, but the way her shoulders trembled made me suppress the urge to throw her across the room.
Astrid pulled back slightly, her breath catching in her throat as she looked at me. The terror in her eyes was slowly receding, replaced by a confusion that mirrored my own. Her arms laid slightly on my shoulders as she looked at me.
"Arthur," she said again, her voice softer now, "are you alright?"
I blinked, my gaze drifting around the dimly lit room. A fire crackled merrily in the hearth. A simple wooden table sat between two chairs, a half-eaten bowl of stew and a loaf of bread resting on its surface.
The aroma of herbs and roasted vegetables filled the air, a stark contrast to the phantom stench of blood that still clung to the edges of his senses.
"It's unusually dark here." I noticed, looking around.
"Yeah…things happened…" She looked around nervously.
Of course they did! How long had I been in that dream-like voodoo state?
"Give me a run…down…" I felt my words drawl in my mouth.
It felt like I was under anaesthesia. It was confusing, but what was even more confusing was how the analogy of me knowing what it feels like to be under one came into my mind. It feels like my mind is warren of sequestered recollections—memories, some of which don't even belong to me.
There was a lingering after effect in the form of extreme sluggishness as I found it extremely hard to discern words, sounds, colours and emotions—my own and Astrid's. Like a venom slowly spreading throughout me.
"Um- so like…"
The bristling arcanum blitzing from behind her, or rather behind the wall behind her made my senses tingle like running your fingers through a glass of tapioca pearls.
The door flew open as Michael—the last person I wanted to see me like this—bursted through the door. He looked at me and then at Astrid—Goddess bless her cotton socks—who was still—almost—perched in my lap, arms conveniently on me. For a moment he grinned and then frowned once again.
"Look," he said, the grin fighting to reappear, "I know it's hard—no, seriously, rock hard—to pull out right now, but we've gotta bail. Five-alarm fire. Abort, abort!"
I shifted, letting Astrid slide off my lap.
She bent down and picked up the earring that had fallen at some point before I came back to my senses.
Michael, clearly misinterpreting the situation, burst into a flurry of frantic gestures and urgent pronouncements about a situation he deemed "world-endingly urgent."
As Astrid started to walk towards the door where her coat was hanging, Michael winked at her. Needless to say, even though I couldn't see her face, her ears dyed into a shade so crimson I feared it would explode.
As Astrid attempted to escape the awkwardness, Michael stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"Whoa there, cowgirl," he drawled, his attempt at humour falling flat. "Didn't realize you were such a natural," he continued. "You were riding that bronco like you were born in the saddle. Didn't take you for the rodeo type, y'know."
Astrid's throat bobbed as she tried to speak, her voice barely above a whisper. "I... should go. You need to explain it in detail to him…I don't understand it too much anyways…"
She attempted to leave the room once again, but he blocked her by his shoulder. "No need to rush off," he chuckled, "Unless you're worried about round two?" He waggled his eyebrows, and I felt the last vestiges of my patience fraying.
The room still felt off, like I was drifting between reality and some half-forgotten dream. My limbs were heavy, my mind sluggish, each breath dragging through thick air. Even the faint warmth on my thigh—where Astrid had sat—felt distant now.
Michael stepped inside slowly, eyes dragging over me like I was a mess someone else would have to clean up.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he drawled, voice dripping with mock amusement. "Didn't think you had it in you, Arthur. Not going to make a toast to it?"
Bringing up a glass of liquor up to his eye level which he conjured out of Goddess knows where, he looked at me through the pale-yellow liquid.
I closed my eyes for a moment, willing the pounding in my head to subside.
"Not now," I muttered, struggling to sit straighter.
"Why?" His grin widened. "Need recovery time? Should've stretched first—basic endurance training."
The ceiling shuddered and a thin line ran through the wall to my side.
I met his gaze, trying to keep my voice steady despite how heavy my tongue felt. "Surely you have something else to talk about as well, yes?"
His smirk didn't falter. "You think I'd waste my time just to gloat?" He paused, considering. "...Okay, maybe I would. But today's your lucky day." He crossed the room with lazy, predatory steps. "Thought you'd want to know... the merger's started."
The words hit like ice water, but my brain struggled to connect the pieces. "Pardon?"
He tilted his head, clearly enjoying himself. "The merger," he repeated slowly, as if speaking to a child. "It's already started."
I stared, searching his face for any hint of a lie, some twisted punchline—but there was none. He wasn't the type to lie about this. Mock, sneer, and belittle? Sure. But not fabricate something that serious.
"You're... serious."
His expression sharpened. "What gave it away? My charming personality?" He leaned against the desk, arms still crossed as he sipped. "Figured someone should tell you, so I sent ratatouille. 10 minutes ago…wait, damn, ten minutes only?! You've got some serious stamina problems, bro."
My jaw tightened as anything after the confirmation of merger fell into a backdrop. "When?"
"15 minutes ago? I think? Can't be arsed with tracking time."
The room tilted, the last remnants of haze clearing as reality crashed down around me. Fifteen minutes. Long enough for things to spiral out of control.
Michael watched me closely, measuring every flicker of realisation. The sneer on his face vanished. "Looks like you're finally awake."
I forced my voice into something steady, despite the urge to throw my guts out.
"Oh, by the way, Your father sent me. I might hate your guts, but he is someone I respect. So don't give me a bad impression. Put on your pants and follow up quickly."
I looked down and then sighed as I felt his cackle echo in the lobby, evidently proud of making a fool out of me.
Shaking my head, I stood up and reached out for the cloth nearest to me—a jacket. Zipping the jacket up until the collars covered my chin and lips, I turned my head towards him. "Are you going to keep looking at me?"
"Maybe."
Shaking my head, I walked towards the door and started to walk as fast as I could.
If the merger was happening, this could lead to a worldwide catastrophe.
Michael took the lead again as I wobbled and tried to get my frayed consciousness back into control while following Michael's footsteps.
There were a lot of things happening simultaneously. Truth be told, this isn't the first time I have seen something like this. But they have always been…locked. Like a part of my brain that was purposefully caged.
Even before the annual meeting, I had seen a vision of someone. But it has never been as clear as it was this time. And it is all connected to Astrid, in some way. Even the first time I felt something like this was when I picked her up… It is almost like everything was leading me in one specific direction. Or that I was growing incessantly paranoid.
As we climbed down the coiling stairs and turned around the corner, the sight of my father came into focus. He was, as always, the same. The ever-hurried expression was plastered all over him. But unlike most times—where he's worrying for nothing—this seemed genuine.
"What is it?" I asked, feeling a comforting warmth seep into my bones from the jacket.
"It's happening. We need to leave, now."
"Leave for where?"
"Home." He said as he turned away. "Jayden is waiting by the warp gate on the mountains. We leave for Thal'kresh as soon as possible."
"You are oddly relaxed." I took a step forward, following right after him before turning around to Michael. "Astrid…"
"I'll get bugs bunny." He cut me off, his back already towards me.
"Thanks."
"Fuck you too."
As he started to walk away, I matched my pace with Aksel. For a moment we walked in utter silence. No words were spoken, none were needed.
I could already see the gears in his brain turning, trying to formulate a believable lie.
"What is your purpose here?" I asked again, this time changing the nature of the question, trying to be a bit more direct.
"I came here for you, what else, my son." He fixed his eyes on me.
As if not wanting to give something away, he averted them as soon as he had locked them. I tried to probe his intentions, but all I met was an impenetrable fortress that was impossible to break through.
"You were never good with lies."
He let out a chortle. "Yeah, I sometimes wonder who you got it from."
"Mother, of course."
Aksel's head snapped at me. "Do not belittle your mother like that."
"Sure." The canopy of tinted glass overhead fell short as the dim blue light of the moon illuminated his features. "That said, I am quite sure of where I get my topic-deflection tactics from." I spoke as the wyrms ahead were pulled by the countless castle-servants.
One of the long-eared men who was wearing a tight-fitting fabric with leather pads on his shoulders and knees walked towards us. With a perpetual sneer that almost everyone carried when Jayden was not around, he looked at me and then rolled his eyes as he talked. "The wyrms are ready."
Stomping his feet, he walked past us and stood to the side. The others did the same and walked away from the five wyrms in front of us.
Five?
"This is ridiculous." The familiar voice chimed from behind. "To be left behind with you mud-bloods is a new low, even for father." Isolde huffed, frowning deeply.
"Well, I think you have more important issues to look forward to." Aksel said as he started to walk towards the wyrms.
"You know…" I called out as he stopped and looked over his shoulder, "…whatever it is, it won't work. I will not be utilized by you, or mother, anymore."
He let out a long sigh. "I wish what you say is true, dearest son." He lowered his gaze, a feeling I never saw him show brimming in those thundering olive irises. "I really do."
Isolde walked past me as well. Her white hair was tied in a braid resting on her shoulder.
I turned my head back. There was still no sign of Astrid and Michael.
Hmm…
I closed my eyes, feeling my senses expand. Through the hallways, up the stairs, into the rooms. Everywhere. Like the raw structure of a building with no walls, I was able to see everything.
At that moment, I saw her, her arcanum as bright as ever. Michael was a few steps away from her. She's ok.
Since Jayden was not here anymore, I tried to expand my senses even more. I wanted to know how the jail where the minister was thrown worked. However, no matter how much arcanum I willed into my senses, I just couldn't find it, despite tracing my steps back to where it was located.
Like it never existed there.
"Arthur!" Aksel called from behind as my concentration wavered and like pulling someone suddenly from their shirt, my consciousness returned to my material body, the sensation of pseudo-omniscience washing away.
Without saying anything, I turned around.
"Hap!" Isolde grunted and the wyrm flapped its wings, jumping into the air as it started to fly away.
So much for being under my complete control. I still do not understand the reasoning behind Jayden's doing. Why would he do this, when all it would bring him is shame?
Feeling the thoughts blend inside my brain into a slush, I pulled the harness of the wyrm. Its milky white eyes seemed to move while it took to the sky. Aksel was already ahead of me, flying with such expertise as if he had been flying wyrms for a lifetime.
The scales beneath the saddle pulsed as the wyrm flew faster. Sarton came into focus, the usual hustle and bustle further amplified due to the seismic disruptions. I could even feel the sky coming apart.
The wyrm flapped its wing again, stronger this time, as it took even higher.
The wind was cold, nipping against my skin, and the 'smell' of arcanum that brimmed my lungs was nothing short of soul-refreshing. As I closed my eyes, a few motes of light started to drift in front of the darkness that accompanied the closing of my eyes.
Slowly opening my eyes and feeling my hair slap against my face wildly due to the altitude, I saw them. Manaflies. A few hundred of them, forming a thin beeline around me and the wyrm. Some tried to keep up, and some simply were left behind due to the speed of the wyrm.
It was strange. Why were the manaflies attracted to me? Why not Michael or Aksel who had stupendous amounts of arcanum, or Astrid who had the brightest arcanum signature that I had ever seen? Why…me? Someone of a mediocre arcanum pool and even darker form of arcanum.
The sound of wings flapping furiously invaded my ears and the manaflies dispersed in every direction. Before I could turn my head to see back, another wyrm came into a close proximity to me. Glancing from the side of my eye, I saw Michael riding the wyrm with Astrid sitting behind him.
"Jesus, you're going to kill me—oh! Arthur! Please! Let me sit with youu! This lunatic is trying to kill me!"
Michael had a very stern look on his face. Instead of the usual banter with her, he looked straight at me. "Got any idea what we're going to do?"
I felt my brows furrow. To be totally honest, I had no idea. This wasn't something I could simulate in my head. I just know that the effects are going to be devastating. Introducing a giant landmass onto a planet breaks many natural laws.
There are also the factors of who is merging into whom. Is earth's landmass integrating with eden, or is it the other way around. No matter what it is, people on earth are going to face casualties that can't be numbered.
Humans after aeons of evolution have adapted to the lower gravity that the much smaller earth—when compared to eden. Anyone who can't use arcanum would be crushed into a pulp. There is also the concentration of oxygen and other gases which can result in poisoning.
"I am at a loss." I admitted, looking ahead. The cold air made my eyes sting.
"Figured." He replied, biting his lip. "Even that nerd Dotun couldn't figure out the scale." He continued. "But…"
He suddenly stopped.
"But?"
"I am not supposed to tell you this."
"Just the indication of you knowing something betrays the purpose of gatekeeping it."
"…" He looked at me and then clicked his tongue. "The Olaniyans. They figured that there is an 80% chance that eden would be the one to merge with earth. The exact reason is unknown." He started explaining. "But Earth is fragile. So, their guess is that the integration will be compartmentalised."
"Didn't know that thick head of yours had complicated words stored inside them."
Michael pulled the reins and the wyrm tilted to the side, making Astrid lose her balance. As he was about to fall, she pulled onto Michael's hair. "God damn it, you freak! Take a joke!"
Adjusting the wyrm back, he looked back. "Stay silent for a while, the elders are talking."
"I am older than him."
Michael turned his head to me and smirked. "So, you're into older ones."
"Can we talk about the important thing right now?" I was baffled.
"What I mean by compartmentalized is that Eden might be integrating in smaller portions. Like you know—fuck it, I don't understand the technicality behind it, but it's so Earth doesn't attract the entirety of Saturn's asteroid belt towards itself." He paused, "Ok, that was an exaggeration, but that's the general crux of it."
I looked ahead. The hills rolled in front of us and the peak where the WarpGate was, came into focus. The small congregation of soldiers and some other people I recognised from the banquet crossed my sight. Beside the shimmering portal were the three young Cromwells. Nacht, Lucian and Isolde.
As our Wyrms nosedived towards the hill, I stood on its back.
"Arthur! What are you doing?!"
"I need to go." I looked at Michael. "Can you look after her?"
"I am your enemy, technically."
"Mine, not hers."
"Fair enough." He flicked his hair. "I guess I can look after this for a while." The familiar smirk crossed his face. "Should cost you around a hundred thousand dollars."
"Ok."
I didn't have time to negotia—
Wait…
"A hundred thousand??" I blurted out.
"Yeah? Don't you supply power to the whole of Europe?"
"Don't you own most of the nuclear arms around the world?"
"Eh- game is game. I can just 'accidently' forget your little girl down there." He pointed at the dense forest beneath.
"Wait, wait…your two parents own what?"
"Hahh…how about a hundred euros."
"What's Euros? Anyways, make that thousand and we have a deal."
"200."
"900"
"500."
"Deal."
Leaping off the Wyrm that was still nosediving, I let the familiar warmth of electricity course through my limbs. Redirecting the magnetic fields, I pulled myself and then flipped the pull, causing me to arrive in front of the shimmering portal in a single blink of an eye.
One of the guards looked at me and moved—probably because of my sudden arrival—but I pushed through him. The sensation of travelling for miles without even doing so hit me and I squinted my eyes as the ever dark grey of the sky over Lawold transitioned into the bright sunlight of Thal'kresh desert.
I felt my eyes go wide as I looked around me and then up at the splintered sky where Aksel and Jayden stood, hands clasped behind their back, overlooking the mountain range which overlooked the elven territory on the other side.
And while everything felt like falling into chaos, a single word escaped my lips.
"Beautiful…"
***************
Fjellborg
The steam curled like lazy fingers around her, clinging to her skin. Laziness overtook Maria as she hesitated for a moment, letting the heat soak in a little longer, but the ache in her legs and the dull throb across her ribs reminded her of why she was there in the first place.
Albert's 'training session'—no pulling punches, no room for finesse. Just raw, brutal force. Her arms still felt like lead, knuckles feeling like jelly pounded into powder beneath the thin layer of gauze she'd wrapped them in.
With a sharp breath, she pushed herself upright, the wooden bench beneath her creaking. The towel she'd draped across her shoulders slid down—a damp heap that smelled faintly of cedar and sweat.
As she stood at the door of the sauna, she knew that the air outside the sauna would be biting, even though it would be an enclosed space, but the idea of lingering there—simmering in her own exhaustion—felt indulgent in a way she couldn't quite justify.
Comfort. Discomfort. And it was all the latter, ever since he left. Like suffocating on a windy day.
She stepped out, the first blast of cool air pulling a shiver from deep in her chest. Goosebumps bloomed along her arms, and she quickly picked a dry towel from the side and pulled it tighter around her chest and torso, feeling the heat steam off her in waves.
The floor was slick beneath her bare feet and every step she took sent a faint twinge up her calves.
The dull ache in her ribs hadn't eased, and her shoulders protested as she bent to pick up her clothes. Even lifting the thick woolen sweater over her head felt like a battle, the fabric dragging against her skin and leaving her breathless for reasons she didn't care to examine too closely.
As she was trying to slip into the sweater, she caught sight of herself in the fogged mirror.
The reflection was blurred, warped by the condensation clinging to the glass, but still enough to give her pause. Maria reached out, dragging her palm across the surface until the smudged outline sharpened into something more recognisable.
Maria's golden hair clung to her face in damp strands, and her skin was flushed from the heat, but her eyes felt like they hadn't gotten any rest in ages. After all, she hadn't slept properly in the past month or so.
She looked at her reflection from top to bottom—or well, as much view the mirror could provide.
"Do I…?" The words slipped out before she could even realise that she was speaking, eyes still fixed at her reflection. Her fingers lingered on the edge of the mirror. Do I look different now? Older? Uglier? Compared to…
It isn't fair.
She remembered standing next to Arthur when they talked, as the sun set before them. She remembered looking beautiful. She remembered feeling attractive.
She remembered him, his grey eyes reflecting the colour of his soul. His hands instinctively avoided any touch, yet letting her get close. Even with things left unsaid, she could remember him feeling comfortable with her. Just her. More than with anyone else!
'Why did he change? How did that girl change him so much?' She thought.
Despite being a very mature and extremely composed girl for her age, in moments of solitude like these, Maria had a habit of crashing out at every little thing.
She couldn't look at the girl in the mirror without a mixture of pity and loathing. How would he, then?
Why would he, then?
He's used to having everything perfect around him. Perfect. Everything except for her.That flawed thing.
A thin crack ran across her reflection in the mirror.
She pulled back sharply, shaking off the thought, but it clung to her like the steam had in the sauna. The question wasn't new; it came and went, unspoken, but louder in moments like these.
Letting out a sigh, she removed the sweater and put on the undergarments she had missed to put on before. The sweater settled heavily on her shoulders as she tugged it into place after that. Turning and reaching out for the thick coat hanging by the door, she wore it.
The weight of it grounded her, the fur-lined hood brushing against her neck as she fastened the buttons one by one.
It has been well over a month since Arthur, his father and Michael have gone inside the shimmer. Arthur's brother—Eric had taken hold of the family for now. From what she had heard he was a 'proxy' until there was further news. At least that is what Albert said.
The other syndicates have assumed all three of them as dead. And while the relationship between Michael and his father was far from homely, it still bothered Maria. "It is overwhelmingly odd how Mr. White had not once visited Fjellborg ever since Michael was reported missing."
'He didn't even visit Seoul… speaking of which, if the shimmer there really did swallow them and took them to the other side, it can be a huge problem. Since not even once have they been sighted.' She continued to talk to herself as she dressed herself.
'If the people on the other side can keep them in place for so long…it spells trouble for all of us. Michael is 'supposed' to be the strongest amongst us. Even during our mixed duels, he has never lost a fight to any of us…well, not all of us, since Arthur never partakes in duels.'
Her chest cinched.
Closing the door after her, she stepped outside. The sound of someone talking was coming from the far corner of the hallway. Other than that, there was no sound that could be heard, save for the crow cawing loudly outside.
Fjellborg was a quiet place. The place was big enough to muffle even screams from the lower floor. And even still, the silence was so loud that normally Maria would feel like she'd die if she stayed inside for long.
And while she never particularly liked it, since last month, she has been using this place as her second home.
Something about it felt just so familiar. She took a deep breath. Her ribs hurt from just breathing but…
'It's ok. Everything would be. I believe so.' She repeated mentally.
"Oh, Maria." Slowly turning around, she looked up.
"Hello, Dotun." She greeted, gently massaging her neck.
Dotun towered well over her, his grey-blue eyes looking down at her with the same tiredness that mirrored hers.
"Are you done with the sauna?"
"I am."
Assuming he was going to use it, she decided to excuse herself. However, he spoke again, making her stop.
"Thanks for supporting me back there." He spoke, his back turned to her.
She shrugged. "It's what felt right in the moment. You were the only one keeping up with me, so I had to." She paused before speaking again. "I had no other choice."
"I know." He replied, a distant smugness in his voice. "Even though we still failed to land a hit on him—Albert, I mean."
'He is right. In the end all of us—even combining our strengths—were not able to land a single hit on him.'
After all, Albert was a monster—in every sense of the word. A true predator.
"I have been thinking…"
She was about to say something but he talked first.
"…we can land a hit on him, logically speaking."
"Well, he isn't the most logical being, is he?"
Pulling the fur-lined collars closer, she raised my shoulders, feeling the warmth seep into her cheeks.
"No, I mean, logically speaking, we all had a chance to land a hit on him. The reason why I think we were unable to was because we were focusing too much on collaborating with each other."
"What do you mean?"
"That he was using our strengths and weaknesses and turning them against each other. If we were to fight alone, each one of us could've landed a hit. Despite the fact he is holding back."
Maria's brows arched. "Why are you telling me this?"
He smiled, the corner of his lips crinkling. "You are going to go fight him again, don't you?"
She was taken aback slightly. She was sure Arthur was alive. And if he was inside Eden, then he'd be getting stronger fighting things who can't be compared with the danger level available on earth.
She hated being left behind.
"Whoever it is whom you're going to coax into training with you…" he looked at her from the corner of his eyes, "…don't. I believe you can do something of far more significance while being alone."
Raising his hands up and turning his back totally towards her, he shrugged. "Do what you wish with that information."
The door handle clicked open, even though he was not touching it. He was about to go inside when he stopped once again. "Do you believe they are alive?"
"I do." She answered, without even a moment of hesitation.
"Thought so." Dotun smiled, "Other than the lag there should be no problem."
"Lag?"
"Whoops. 'Accidently' spoke too much." A rather pompous laugh escaped his mouth, "Well then, Maria, I will be going."
Despite not showing it outwardly, there was an entire world of confusion and panic taking birth inside her.
She wanted to confront him about what he was hiding. Because he clearly was. She had the means and power to do so. However, doing something in such a rash way was not her nature.
Maria Miranda was a pacifist—for the most part.
Just as Dotun was about to go inside, the entire foundations of the castle shook like it was being torn apart.
Arcanum flared to life underneath her skin and then flushed out like a volcano bursting, and so did Dotun's. The arcanum slipping out of their body grounded them, however the violent tremors did not stop the castle from breaking down.
Thick cracks ran all along the castle and arcanum spilled out of those cracks, trying to keep the structure in place.
"Looks like it started." Dotun commented as the silver bugs swarmed over his body, their tiny legs skittering across his skin. They latched on and spread quickly, linking together like pieces of a puzzle.
The shifting mass of insects tightened, hardening into a metallic suit that clung to him like a second skin. When the bugs reached his head, they climbed over his face, sealing it inside a helmet that fit snugly, almost uncomfortably. Two gaps opened where his eyes were, and from within, a faint yellow light began to glow like dying coals in a darkened room.
"First time seeing you in an iron-man suit."
"I like to call it Adaptive Nanostructural Exoskeletal Tactical and Autonomous Molecular Reconfiguration Combat System Integrated with Quantum-State Feedback Neural Interface and Hyper-Dynamic Field Resonance Manipulation Unit." Dotun corrected, his voice regaining the prior smugness. "Or ANETAMRCS-QFIN-HDFRMU for short."
"You just made that up."
"I did."
"Pff—" Maria stifled a laugh, "—so?" She raised a brow at him, "you know what this is. Mind explaining?"
"Isn't it obvious?" He said and pointed towards the roof a second before it came crumbling down.
Maria's eyes widened as arcanum coated her entire body and she leapt to the side, dashing into the nearest window.
The window broke as she fell down at a tremendous speed.
'I can't fly…I need to absorb it…'
Suppressing her panic, she adjusted her body mid-flight and activated her arcane art. Just as she was about to make contact, she tip-toed gently, as if all of the built-up momentum had been suddenly killed and a deluge of teal-coloured particles suddenly burst from beneath her, before drifting towards her and entering her body.
'That was close…'
Looking up, she saw Dotun descend slowly, using what felt like propellers underneath his feet.
Maria was in no mood to play the games of riddles anymore, however, she didn't exactly want to get into an altercation with him either, given how something much bigger than their little scuffle was happening.
The helmet that looked like the head of a reptile opened, revealing Dotun's face as he looked at her. "Don't look at me like that, I am sure you understand what is happening."
It was then when it suddenly clicked to her.
How could I not guess?! Isn't it obvious?!!
"But there was no reported shimmer in Norway…it's the farthest away from every shimmer position. How…" Maria questioned.
"Oh, it's not in Norway, no—these are just the aftershocks. The real thing is happening in Asia right now." Dotun answered with an uncanny degree of nonchalance.
Maria frowned, realising what he meant. "How many countries are going to face the merger?"
"Well, since it's upon us, there is no need for us to assume things." He replied after taking a look at the hologram projecting in front of his eyes. With a wave of his hand, he disabled it.
"Since Eden is around twice as big as Earth, and we believe only 1/5th of Eden is merging, that would estimate around…40% of the world. So around 11-12 countries will be directly affected."
Maria gulped. "And indirectly?"
"Entirety of Asia and some of Europe."
She frowned.
"It will start from Seoul - South Korea, spreading to the nearest destination - North Korea, displacing mountain ranges and rivers including the Yalu River that separates North Korea and China. From there it will spread into China – Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and potentially Shandong and Beijing. The merging land could extend into the Yellow Sea, reshaping the Bo Hai Gulf and impacting major cities such as Tianjin, Shanghai, and Qingdao."
A rather melancholic look appeared on Maria's face as Dotun continued to explain the direct impact.
"The Far Eastern regions of Russia, including Siberia, Kamchatka, and Primorye. New islands will appear from the Sea of Japan, adding to the Japanese Archipelago." Dotun paused.
Maria sulked. "The Watanabes would refuse to take refuge here."
"Yes. And it doesn't end in Japan. Mongolia: Eastern regions near China, Taiwan, Vietnam, The Philippines, Indonesia, Islands in the Pacific Ocean, such as Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia."
A distant shriek rebounded in the sky as Maria's expressions darkened.
"India will be hit as well. A mega-tsunami will head for the south-eastern Asian countries in about an hour." Dotun spoke excitedly. "It is basically a massacre. Millions upon millions will die." He continued speaking as the noise in the sky turned cacophonous.
As he was talking, suddenly the clouds overhead were split open as a massive creature suddenly dipped down.
A shadow that blotted out the sun rays, it was a creature of unimaginable size, with a long, serpentine neck and a beak that was bigger than a light pole, its wing spanned and covered the entire castle with its shadow.
Dotun looked up and cracked his neck. "Hmm. An arcanum dense Quetzalcoatlus. What were the chances a crack would appear right above us." He then looked at Maria who had a dark look on her face. "May I?"
The teal-coloured motes that had entered Maria suddenly burst forward on her palm, swirling like a vortex as she pointed her finger towards the sky. The following moment, the teal ball of stored energy swooshed through the air and made contact with the Quetzalcoatlus, ripping it to shreds.
Huge chunks of its flesh and bone rained down, plopping everywhere with heavy thuds.
Dotun raised his hand and the nanites formed a small canopy over their heads as the brutalised pieces of the Quetzalcoatlus's body continued to fall down.
Under the canopy's shadow, Maria's eyes glowed in a bright grey shade as her lips quivered and she bit back a sniffle.
It was the birth of a new world, but one that would be built on the grave of the previous one. And only the ones who'd live through this will be able to see the sun shine on a new day.
A survival of the fittest.
The pyramid of the food chain would soon be flipped on its head. Mankind would no longer be the apex predators.
Above the grey clouds, and the boundless dark sky, somewhere between the stars, a "man" clad in tattered black robes looked down.
His weary red eyes and parched lips crinkled into a subtle smile. He pointed down and then looked back over his shoulder.
"It finally started…"
He talked breathlessly as he drew a dagger and stabbed 'his' hand, slitting it from his palm towards his wrist. His vision doubled as he looked down one more time before mumbling:
"May the blessing of Osiris be with you."