Chapter 299 (1/2)

Chapter 299

The world warped, stretching and folding in a sea of violet, and the omnipresent sound of the harsh winds was cut down to a distant rule aetheric step

To everyone else, God Step was instantBut I struggled to fully process the rapidly-shi+fting landscape as I approached my destinationI needed to understand and predict exactly ould be around me when I arrived, or that split second of disorientation would give h ti frame of the bearlike beast nor my companions could be seen as I appeared at my destinationInstead, I was met with co of being entirely encased, like a rodent trapped in a fistSos, pressing againsthmy heart rate to spike and asps around thesnow that threatened to choke ht, his own mind nearly blank orry‘Arthur? Arthur!’

Tried to God Step—everything is muddled from the wind—hts were scattered and difficult to collect, even ence under the snow could account for

This was the sole instance where I had failed God Step, and it was the first ti not only the disorientation, but the repercussion of the spatiuround or deep in the ocean, the consequences

I shook away the unnecessary thoughts, which causedup a bare inch of space around , I used ive h little cave to huddle in, is, find meLook for the blast of aether

I could sense a tinge of hesitation froive up on the—’

If I can’t use God Step, then there’s no e can keep up out hereJust look for the—

‘Aether cannonYeah, yeah, I’ the technique I’d h the deep snow around the doathered it init into a sphereThe violet sphere shot upward, easily passing through the layer of snow above h the storm

As soon as the hole was exposed to the surface, the biting wind and the blizzard’s roar rushed back inI counted to thirty, then released another blast of aether up into the sky, which glittered like a flare a ice and snow

I kept track of ti into the skyAround the fifth shot, I started to wonder how far off course I’d goneBy the tenth, I was growing nervousThen, shortly after I’d sent the thirteenth ball of purple, glowing aether into the sky, a dark shape outlined in flickering black fla on top ofhard hit me in the nose, then the fire winked out

“Grey!” Caera shouted, struggling to disentangle herself from me“What happened?”

“Later!” I shouted back“Just waiting for Regis, then we’ll—”

The shadoolf’s thoughts cut through ht, unable to suppress the frustration I felt leaking into our connectionI could feel my companion’s presence closer to me than before but I was unable to pinpoint him in the aetheric storm

‘Almost there, I thinkSend up another flare’

I followeddown into our now cra storain, lovely weather we’re having,” Regis quipped“I think it’s actually about to get—”

Catching a flash in the corner of my eyes, I intercepted an object just before it struck the side of my headIn my hand was a hailstone the size of is finished as a second frozen projectile shot down next toa crater only inches from my companion

Beside me, black flames burst from Caera’s form just as a hunk of ice the size of her head struck her on the shoulderThough the aura devoured most of the hail before it hit her, she sucked in a pained breath and flinched away from the i over the noise“We’ll—I’ll be puht, I did the only thing I could think ofTwisting around in the little hole so my back was to the others, I sent a blast of aether outwards and down, opening up the hole down to the per a couple feet of the dark soil

I slid down the slick tunnel, which was about five feet deep and seven feet across, and the others quickly followedSpreading out estured for Caera to lay down next to is, inside meCaera, here”

“What are you—”

“There’s not enough snow above us to block the hail,” I said impatiently“I can protect my body with aether, and you with is immediately leapt into my body, but Caera continued to look at me uncertainlyThis moment of hesitation was interrupted when a h the snow above our heads and bounced off the hard ground atus with snow, dirt, and ice

“I feel like we’ve gotten much closer in these last few days, Grey, don’t you?” she said, letting out a stiff laugh before lowering herself down next to ru so that I was hovering aardly above Caera, shi+elding her froan to hum with a palpable layer of aether

‘Well this is cozy,’ Regis thought happily

I rolledwait

By the ti and the wind subsided, ere ain, as the continual bombardment had caused the snowy roof to collapse down on us, and the blizzard had deposited several feet of nen into our hole

The enclosure had protected us froh, and left a smaller area for our bodies to heat, which likely saved Caera’s lifeStill, she was blue around her lips and shi+vering violently as we dug our way back up to the surface

After breaking through into the cool, still air, I froze, ht around lacial blue canvas painted with sweeping streaks of greens, yellows, and purples

The painfully bright landscape glittered under the sourceless light, and, squinting, I could see the full shape of the land for the first timeGod Step had takenthe broken portal was hidden, into a valley of snow that stretched out into the horizonStill, the fact that we could see the large crater in the distance was soe of the caldera were uneven, broken borders of jagged stone and deep ravines, while behind us, the zone kept cli away in distant, mistypulled herself halfway out of the snow besidesquaas so sudden and so close that I acted on instinct, bringing one arainst an attack fro my body for support as she sank down into the snoith a puff of powder

Behind s and another harsh crow

Whirling my body in the deep snow, I spotted a tall, thin birdlike creature just several feet behind usIt had long black legs, thin as sticks, a teardrop shaped body covered in gleahtly to its sides, and a gracefully curving neck

Its neck was currently twisted to the side, tilting its head comicallyTwo vibrantly violet eyes shone from behind its jet black beak, which was shaped like the head of a javelinThe beak opened and snapped shut two, then three ti across the caldera

I waited with caution, uncertain if the creature was hostile or simply curiousInstead, Caera was the one to act first

“Uh, hello,” she said softly

“Uh, hello,” it ret-like aether beast stepped to the side, then took a series of shuffling, back and forth steps that almost looked like sos to flutter several feet to the left

‘I think big bird here likes Caera,’ Regis teased‘That looked like so ritual to ,” I estured sharply toward the series of claw prints in the snoith its spear-like beak

“Writing what?” Caera asked, her tone clipped as she gruain“Oh”

Moving slowly so as not to spook the creature, I pulled myself free of the snow and moved to stand over the series of interwoven claw h it wasn’t in a language I could read

Caera appeared beside ed herself for warmthIt wasn’t as cold as it had been before, I realizedThe te, but ithin a talented e’s ability to survive with the effective use ofto tell us?” she asked, gazing down at the prints in the crystalline snow