Chapter 346 (1/2)
Chapter 346: A Dim Spark
My eyes took a moment to adjust to the sudden dimness as I stepped out of the ascension portal
I sucked in a lungful of aether-laden air, and it felt like the first real breath I’d taken in weeks The tension faded frory jolt from my core as it reacted to the dense at island The portal had faded, leaving behind only an eroith sharp purple crystals Dozens of other floating islands hovered at the heart of what appeared to be…
Regis let out an appreciative whistle ‘Whoa’
A few strides were all it took to cross the island I was on I gazed down into the gloo walls, floor, and ceiling of this cavernous structure were rowths dotted the many islands as well, soed boulders
It was like standing at the heart of an enoris’s shadoolf for down as he licked his lips “Iine how much aether is stored in all these crystals”
My eyes focused on a black spire that rose fro s covering the entire three-story structure It was also the only thing in the zone that contained no aether “What is that?”
My coaze away frolance at the black spire “Beatsto try to kill us”
“Reasonable assu to the archway shi+eode “At least the exit is within sight”
“Seee of the platfor fro across the twenty-foot gap to the closest island, then back again to prove his point
“Feel free to play leapfrog by yourself” I began charting the aetheric paths all the way to the portal before shooting my cois cursed as I started to God Step across the zone
As I stepped onto the next island, however, the pathways began to shi+ away in a fuzzy haze The at vibration
Suddenly dizzy, I stumbled to one knee
“Wha—”
The howl of a rushi+ng wind filled the entire zone Clouds of purpledraard the obelisk at the heart of the geode My instincts took hold and I forced the gates around my core shut, but it was no use; my reservoir was e session forced out oftide
A thin, strained voice cried out over the howling wind
My eyes widened in horror at the sight of Regis, collapsed, his physical forether was forced away The shadoolf beca into a dilowing strands of his black and violet foran to disperse, and his incorporeal form drifted into me, his mind dark and cold
The wind faded, as did the horrible vibration, though the sensation lingered behindcore Backlash sent spase to be sick, and instead forced ure out what the hell had just happened
Every inch of ons needed aether to survive; their bodies consuh—and my physical for I had, but it felt like even le particle of aether left in the atis was silent, hisnear one dark except for the obelisk Now containing every lowed like a neon light, burning with impossible power I was stunned
Even as ,spire like it was an oasis in the row even brighter
I cursed, pullingthe other islands Most of therowths had all been suffused with aether e arrived, it ain The twenty feet to the nearest island felt a lot farther now that I couldn’t strengthen ic, but there was no other choice but toup until athered all e of the island at full speed and kicked off, hurlinglandmass, but my backlash-weakened muscles resisted, and I knew the h
My chest i to grab onto ast the bare stone and loose dirt as I slid down the side, but failed Just asout into the open air,hard and sharp: a knife-like shard of crystal growing out of the dirt
I hung that way for the space of a single breath before the obelisk flashed A sphere of aetheric fire burst out fro the closest islands A pained yell ripped out fro deep intoover the side of the island
On pure instinct, I threw rowth and curled up in a ball, ulfedrowth at my back The explosion continued to expand past me, but the small area just behind the barrier was shi+elded
I was able to watch froainst the distant walls, infusing theain
With no way of knowing how led back tohand to the boulder-sized growth My core hungrily devoured the aether stored within, and I was finally able to breathe It wasn’t h to heal my hand and fortify e to check in on Regis and focused on getting out of the zone My stomach twisted and churned as I searched for aetheric pathways
There was no path to the exit portal At least, there was no path I could follow The branching, interconnected points—which usually made a kind of road led in a convoluted knot
Tovibration building up again, treh every particle of aether in the zone simultaneously
With no other recourse, I threw myself back behind the crystal shi+eld and hoped it would protect ain When the obelisk activated, all the aether in ed to is to keep him safe
The pain was immeasurable As my eyes rolled back in my head and my mouth opened in a silent screa conscious
The second explosion rippled past me, a visible wave of dark purple fire that washed over the series of islands, lighting up clusters of aether crystals one by one until it hit the far walls The cavern burst into light again
I can’t die like this There has to be so I can do, I assured ainst each other My sluggishI knew and what I could potentially use
The obelisk on the central island absorbed all the aether from the zone, then utilized it in some kind of explosive attack I didn’t knoould happen if I was struck by the explosion, but with no aether to defend myself, I was sure it wouldn’t be pretty Aside from whatever destructive effect it had, the explosion also redistributed aether throughout the zone
The time between the first wave and the second had been different by several seconds, so it seemed likely that there was some randomness involved Unfortunately, this h the zone
But the crystal growths on the islands acted like shi+elds due to their reabsorption of some of the aether It was just too bad that they didn’t also protect against the part when ain If I couldn’t find so else got the chance
When ain, I clenched my teeth and prepared for the worst It had come faster this time by at least fifteen seconds, and I hadn’t even absorbed any of the aether from the protrusion I was sheltered behind to protect h, was different The a within the clear crystals dimmed as the aether particles were draay, but I felt nothing The tiny piece of aether I had held on to, wrapped protectively around Regis, had trembled with the vibration, but hadn’t been pulled away fromI would have tosure my body was still entirely blocked fro the aether from the crystal barrier before the rest of the explosion hit the outer walls Once I had absorbed the entire reservoir, I strengthenedthe twenty-five-foot gap with rooe, curved growth of the clear crystals before the warning vibrations shi+vered through ain When the stones at my back dimmed, and the walls released strea but stayed safely inbreath escaped asped in relief
By hiding behind stones still full of aether while the obelisk drew it in, then absorbing it forexplosion, I could ju the djinn’s trap The only variable beca island, I turned is It took a quarter of my aether reserve, ins of life A sluggish confusion leaked fro into panic as he flew intoon the rest of my reserves in a rush
Don’t take too much! I warned quickly I need as is didn’t respond Instead, I felt a cold, nu I’d never felt froht now? I asked tentatively He hadn’t been this weak since he first foriven to is let out a resigned sigh ‘That fucking sucked’
We’ll get through this, I assured hi when I absorb more aether
Another explosion rolled by This one had been forty seconds from the previous, and ten seconds since the absorption process
And Regis?
‘What?’
Glad you’re not dead, I thought evenly, suppressing the fear and worry that had plagued rated
My coet all emotional on me now’