Chapter 100 - Restoration (Patreon)

Jiran arrived in the People’s Cavern. His eyes roamed over all the changes, he couldn’t help being impressed. A little over a week had passed since they were exiled from their home with almost nothing to their names. Depression and misery had suffused their hearts like a sickness. Now, children laughed and a constant buzz of chattering and activity could be found in every corner.

Touches of their culture covered everything in sight. A rug made from woven fur rested before each stone hovel, but now there were many more homes carved into the walls. Chimes hung in doorways and wooden carvings decorated every flat surface. Murals adorned the walls and ceilings. As he watched, children were drawing and painting while parents prodded them with cheerful words and smiles.

The small trickle of water from the ceiling had been widened to a stream and the pool it fed was separated for bathing and laundry. Lanterns hung from the high ceiling every few feet, bringing a warm glow that cast away any chance of haunting shadows.

A familiar blinking ! notification in his UI caused Jiran to cringe. He pursed his lips, only hesitating for a second before opening it.

[Entity Vacant Timberling has increased its affinity toward you. Trusting > Fervent.]

Okay, that’s it. I’m ignoring those from now on. Fervent? What kind of nonsense is that?

Jiran’s aura stretched wide, filling most of the cavern in his search for Mayalyn. He didn’t see her but found Mathra and headed in her direction—all thoughts of creepy leaf-people vanishing from his mind. She saw him from a distance and waved with a bright smile, her tail swishing behind her.

“Jiran!” She called loudly, her voice cutting through the din.

“Mathra,” He greeted, bowing politely. “I don’t see Mayalyn or the royals, are they outside?”

“No, they left yesterday on a mission to meet an Aahmra of your empire.”

“What?! They left before I came back? They were supposed to wait for me."

She should be fine so long as she's with those two, probably. Why did they leave early? Or… maybe I'm the one who's late.

"H-how many days has it been since I dropped them off here?” A tingling nervousness burned within Jiran’s chest, quickly spreading an unpleasant heat through his body.

“They arrived three days ago… Jiran, are you okay? You do not look well. Would you like some tea?” She reached out to put her hand on his shoulder. Just before her fingers could touch him, he vanished, leaving her gasping as the air from his passing stole the breath from her lungs.

Jiran tore through the cavern at blinding speeds. His aura spotted a small beast carcass drying on a rack and tore it free with a crash. He raced up the steep tunnel he had dug what felt like seasons ago, his heart hammering in his ears. His jaw refused to unclench and his palms were clammy as a single thought repeated in his mind like the pounding of the drums of war.

Niya, please don't be dead.

He burst from the tunnel, the hasty camouflage thrown over the entrance was blown to pieces. The hunters hiding too close to the opening were sent rolling across the ground as Jiran blasted high into the air.

Stop panicking and think! Rushing ahead has caused problems every single time!

Moisture threatened to overflow from his eyes before he brought one fist to his opposite palm. A spike of Coating stabbed through skin and flesh. The spike of adrenaline from the pain brought with it clarity, focus, and determination.

Restoration!

This little snack isn't going to do much. I need higher-tier food, then I'll contact Daughter for Niya’s location.

Jiran opened his map and dug through his memories, searching for a higher-tier hunting ground close to his current location. Even a tier four beast may not suffice as his concentration and mana were at the tier five standard. That left few options, the closest he could think of was the very forest he had left the Aahmra in.

He oriented himself southwest, prepared to jettison shaped hydrogen and oxygen behind him when a blip on his map caught his attention. It had only appeared for an instant and then vanished. He stared at the spot, confusion and the smallest seed of hope mingling in his chest.

The blip appeared again. This time, he saw it more clearly. It took the shape and color of an eye, one he intimately recognized. The seed of hope blossomed into a garden of gratitude. He would never mistake those dazzling orbs—a constellation of stars unto themselves. Daughter.

She knows what I need, that must be Niya’s location, which also implies I’m not too late. Did she hack into my interface the same way she did the node? Doesn’t matter how she’s doing it, only that she is. The marker is all the way North, near the Graymin border. That’s a long way. Daughter placing the marker also implies I don’t have time to contact her. I can feel it, I don’t know how I know but I do. I don’t have a second to waste!

Jiran’s aura formed a cone beneath his feet as gases ignited, sending his body hurtling through the sky. His body, more resilient now than ever, still suffered tremendously from the acceleration. Restoration was the only thing that kept him conscious from the brain-rending forces that tried to tear him apart. His aura formed before him into a sharp, geometric shape that cut the wind, allowing him to push even faster.

A billowing plume of smoke followed him as Hills blurred into plains covered in long, weaving tentacles that grasped for living sustenance. He flashed across a forest of mushrooms before passing a single, floating mountain. In minutes, he traveled further than he could run in days. The blip on his map appeared again, this time a good distance west of its previous position so he adjusted his path.

She’s moving faster than me? That had to be a teleportation. Is she tier six already? Or more likely, she's been captured and is being moved. If that fucking monster hurts her…

Jiran fought down his panic and fury. He spun his Dual Mind into overdrive, thinking hard to distract himself. Memories of planes and rocket ships from Earth whirled through his thoughts. He hardly knew anything about the way they worked, only surface information that any regular person would have. Hopefully, that was enough.

His flight path angled toward the clouds and the thinner air above. The higher he went, the slower it felt like he was flying but he definitely felt a difference in the way the air pressure lessened against his aura. He could also see clearly on his map the sharp increase in speed and hoped it would be enough.

Thirty minutes, Niya. Please hold on for thirty more minutes.

He contemplated igniting Madra’s mana behind him but decided against playing with the volatile energy until he had a chance to learn more about it. Doing something random now when he was making good progress could backfire, costing him precious seconds.

While he flew, Jiran tried to recall every detail about Markhiss from their first encounter. He was on the verge of going wild and becoming a beast. How bad is he now? At least Jiran could be relatively sure he had not ascended, since that certainly would have pushed him over the edge. Markhiss was obsessed with the truth. Unhinged, violent, unscrupulous, and incredibly powerful. Jiran recalled the man surviving his attack using all the mana from the cage without suffering the slightest damage to his clothes, let alone his person.

Could I survive that attack as I am now? Probably, but I doubt I could do it without being singed.

The next blip showed Niya’s location had moved far north of its first appearance. It was now nestled within the mountains separating the empire and the Graymin hordes. While waiting anxiously for its next appearance, Jiran watched his mana sliding down, rapidly approaching fifty percent. The tier three food he snagged from the People was already consumed, barely making a dent in his expenditures.

When he saw the mountains on the horizon, his heart went from a steady race to an all-out gallop. He chose to make the most of his dwindling mana. He cut the flames gushing from behind and formed wings with his aura. His speed began to decrease far more quickly than anticipated, so he made small adjustments to further reduce his drag.

His momentary distraction proved to be a serious hazard for the man who suddenly appeared before him.

Jiran crashed into him a fraction of a second after he appeared, having only seen a flash of gray robes and a single raised palm before the man’s body shattered against his aura. Like two meteors colliding, they careened in separate directions. Jiran’s aura slid across the framework of density in the air, madly grasping for purchase to correct his now-wild flight path.

Who would be that stupid?! I knew I wouldn't be able to fly directly across the empire without attracting some attention but seriously, who would teleport directly in front of me like that? They must have been at least tier six to teleport and no exp notification so at least I know they aren't dead.

Not knowing if he had the time to check on the man, and valuing the moron's life far lower than Niya’s, Jiran continued on as quickly as he could without wasting more mana. Five minutes later, he was close enough to spot a complex high on the side of a mountain, nestled just within the second layer of the range. He didn’t slow down until he was less than a kilometer away, the sudden deceleration was slightly more comfortable than his acceleration had been.

The complex turned out to be a temple with several buildings. He recognized the charms and dedications to the Voice hanging from every arch.

Jiran’s pulse escalated wildly when he saw the empty courtyard before the central building. It was littered with bloody, unmoving bodies. The temple doors were blown in, one hanging haphazardly while the other was embedded into an interior wall. Jiran moved like lightning, sweeping his aura across the bodies and barely relaxing when he didn’t find Niya among them.

Their injuries are fresh. These people died in the last few minutes.

He dashed into the temple, finding more dead lying in pools of their own blood. The puddles were still expanding as their bodies released the last vestiges of life onto the stone floor. He moved through a hole in an inner wall, finding more of the same along with a shattered cellar door.

Fear raced through his veins with every beat of his heart as he imagined his only cousin in a similar, broken state. He rushed through the cellar and down a long set of stone stairs. The steps were never-ending, leading even deeper underground than the Peoples Cavern. He passed more bodies, flying at breakneck speeds through the gore-painted walls. Sounds of fighting soon reached his ears and he pushed his aura all the harder.

Jiran exploded into a wide antechamber before a massive, circular stone door that was slowly creaking to the side as it opened on its own. Three men were fighting, their auras lashed at one another as elements raged between them. He barely saw them, his focus on the unmoving girl collapsed in the corner, covered in blood and broken armor. Above her, the wall was cracked as if she had been thrown into it.

His heart stopped and his eyes stung from uncontrollable emotions. He moved toward her, feeling like he was floating down an impossibly long tunnel. His peripheral vision darkened until the only speck he could perceive was her unmoving body.

Someone was yelling, the rage tainting their voice a drop in the sea that was Jiran’s anguish. An aura brushed against his, loaded with foul intent. Jiran’s manabody responded on its own with a vicious reprisal that caused a crash that shook the entire room. His thoughts, consumed with dread, acknowledged none of it.

He was almost to her when a wall of wind blasted into him, forcing him to the ground. Suddenly, the world snapped into focus—a kaleidoscope of ignored colors and sounds assaulting his senses. The room sputtered to life, and green eyes swept across the three bugs that dared to impede him. A man in gray robes spoke, his voice full of condescension.

"Your fate is sealed, foolish heretic! The Duchess will be here soon, do you honestly believe you can escape with your life after what you've done?"

“What… I’ve… done?” Jiran heard himself speaking, his voice sounding far away.

The man in gray shouted, spittle flying from his lips. “Are you daft?! How many have you killed to kneel where you are? And for what? There is nothing here for the likes of you!” The man’s voice rose several octaves to the shrill, screeching of a child.

On his next breath, he opened his mouth wide, eyes glaring in manic, seething hatred as a gout of fire poured out of his throat. Molten-hot flames tore across the room, turning the stone floor and ceiling to a viscous liquid that bubbled and splattered. As the heat approached dangerously close to Niya, Jiran’s hand rose to meet the fire and his mana roared to life. The attack sparked something deep within him that reared up in denial of the reality unfolding before him. Heat and fire were mere moving molecules. Their only desire was to be still, calm, frozen.

“True Origin of Ice.” Jiran’s whispered technique caused the air to ripple like waves atop the ocean. He directed those waves as his will became the mana itself. Everything they touched stilled to nothing as his image of a frozen universe became real. The flecks of red-hot stone that flew through the air hung suspended as if trapped in time. The flames from the man's mouth were next, instantly turning into an icicle that stretched across the room. The air itself became blue and thick like cracked glass.

Only a few meters of air directly around Jiran and Niya remained untouched. All else was ice.

With the three interlopers locked away, Jiran scrambled to Niya’s side. He rolled her over, searching, praying for signs of life. He formed a thousand threads of Coating and spread them through her body. When her heart fluttered with a single, weak beat, he nearly collapsed from relief.

“Restoration!”