Echoes of the Abyssal Blade: Path to Free Will-Chapter 96: Escaping The Beast

The figure of a female approached and reached out, touching Ayaka’s forehead.

"You have the will to protect yourself, may you find success in protecting others."

A liquid sphere formed in another hand of hers, it floated towards her and sank into her chest. A searing, cold agony followed, but Ayaka gritted her teeth, refusing to scream.

The sphere’s energy spread through her, etching marks along her arms, her back, swirling, wave-like patterns of pale blue light.

The Female’s voice spoke one final time. "Remember this, my successor, you have a righteous purpose, but to go far in your path, you have to convert it into your righteous duty."

It was then that the world shattered, when Ayaka’s eyes opened again, she was on her knees at the entrance to the pathway.

The ocean roaming around the sky was gone now, and in her hand was a colorful mirror piece.

Her skin still glowed faintly, the water-light markings fading but lingering in the corners of her vision.

The colony gathered around her, they had expressions of shock and relief. Alori was the first to drop to his knees beside her, grabbing her shoulders.

"You insane, reckless... idiot," he muttered, though his voice cracked at the end.

Ayaka gave her a weak smile. "I’m alright."

Raerin approached, placing a hand on her shoulder. "My child, you did it."

Ayaka looked down at her hand, she then handed over the mirror to Raerin for the next part.

Raerin straightened, and with his voice booming to everyone in the colony, he said, "We now have them all."

The group fell into silence, they were looking forward to getting out of this ruined city.

Raerin’s eyes then went to the distant heart of the ruined city, which for some reason gave him intense pressure, despite not facing any problems; he could feel that there was something sinister hiding in this ruined city.

He tightened his grip on the mirrors and decided to escape from here as soon as possible.

"Everyone, we will not waste any time, let’s gather these mirror pieces together, maybe we will find a way to get out of here, after gathering these mirror pieces together."

Raerin stood in the center of the gathered colony members, the three mirrors cradled carefully in his hands. Each one pulsed with an inner radiance now, no longer dull, but alive. The colors within them twisted and writhed like captured fragments of flame, tide, and something darker.

The ruined city around them felt... still. The perpetual whispering wind had stopped. The mist had withdrawn. The darkness above them hung like a dying thing, waiting for its final breath.

Jonan’s fingers twitched at his side. Even Ayaka, barely able to stay standing, kept her gaze fixed on the mirrors. Everyone knew instinctively that this was the one and only way they could escape this cursed city.

Raerin exhaled, then he suddenly turned tensed, he could feel something brewing, some kind of movement which was chaotic and hurried, now coming to their direction, from the center of the city.

At the center of the city, stood a tower, one they’d barely glimpsed in the distance before. It rose out of the earth like a rotten tooth, half-collapsed, its uppermost levels canted and shattered, but still standing.

Now, for the first time, an ominous glow issued from its peak, a soft, colorless evil light was rousing itself after centuries of sleep.

"Damn it, now what is that thing," Raerin murmured. Alarms started blaring at his senses at the sight of the tower.

He hurriedly raised the mirrors together.

As one, the mirrors lifted from his grasp, floating, spinning around each other, threads of colored light weaving between them.

The ground beneath them trembled, for reasons unknown, whether it is that half-chewed tower or the shining fusing mirrors in front of them.

A low hum spread throughout the city, everyone fell silent, and then, with a shuddering crack, a large beast crawled out from the underground. The half-chewed tower looked akin to a broken horn on the beast’s head, It was black and grey in color, it was humungous in size, especially its head.

Below its large head were not limbs, but multiple large, sharpened tentacles, gazing at which gave the members of the colony fright.

The Natives prayed more passionately to their god, and the three mirrors spun faster and faster, until their colors blurred together into a single stream of dull light.

Jonan saw it then, a portal was forming, it was not big, but it was not small either, it looked like it could fit just a single person.

"What is that?" Aeren whispered.

"This must be our way out," Raerin murmured. "But there is a risk of where it might lead us."

Unfortunately, Raerin did not have the time to consider if the passage opened in front of him was safe or not, because a menacing aberrant beast, which is not something that even Raerin feels that he cannot come out unscathed, fighting out this beast.

The earth shook harder.

It wasn’t just a simple quake; the structure itself shifted, rearranging. Shattered stones flew everywhere.

Jonan’s stomach twisted at the sight of the beast too; his senses, now sharper than before, told him to escape as soon as possible.

Raerin’s face was solemn, but steady. He then ordered Kedes and Jonan to lead all the members of the colony to safety, by entering that passage, which god knows where it would take them.

There was another earthquake caused by the beast’s movement. The natives of the colony staggered back; they all then hurried under Kedes and Jonan’s lead, only the elders and Raerin stayed behind to ensure that all the members of the colony entered the unknown portal.

Due to the small size of the portal, it took them some time to enter the portal, one by one, meanwhile, Raerin had small beads of sweat appearing on his face, he did not want to lose even a single member from his colony.

The portal yawned before them like a pale, seething wound in the air, its jagged rim bleeding faint threads of multi-colored light into the broken ruins. It pulsed with eerie life, unstable and flickering.

"Move! Everyone move!" Kedes roared, his voice cutting through the stunned murmurs of the colony like a whip crack.

The natives, their faces were drawn tight with terror, began pouring toward the passage. Mothers clutched their children, old men stumbled as younger ones grabbed their arms, half-dragging them forward.

The broken stone street quaked beneath them, tremors growing with every heartbeat as the aberrant beast stirred from the depths of the earth.

Jonan stayed at the back, his hands were clenched, his instincts were just screaming at him to run, and while Raerin did tell him to leave first with Keded, both of them first felt the escape of the natives was important.

Behind them, in the center of the ruined city, the beast wailed. A deep, guttural groan, the death rattle of a creature which had its mind decayed.

The creature’s head alone was the size of a small dwelling, its form grotesquely fused with the shattered tower jagged remnants of the structure clung to it like a crown of broken bone. Its hide was a patchwork of scaled, necrotic flesh and thick, tar-like sludge that bled from its fissures with every motion.

No eyes marked its face — instead, a single gaping maw split from brow to neck, ringed with uneven, serrated fangs that writhed like they lived. The tentacles beneath it, thick as tree trunks and twice as long, rippled and clawed at the earth, dragging the abomination forward with wet, slapping sounds.

A fetid stench rolled from it, a mix of rotten meat and brackish water, making the air itself curdle in their lungs.

Looking at the beast closely turned Raerin’s face darkened. His grip tightened around his spear, the polished shaft glimmering with fiery line. A bead of sweat rolled down his brow, though it wasn’t fear, it was courage.

Kedes! Jonan! Keep them moving! No one stops, no one looks back!"

"Yes, Elder!" Kedes bellowed.

The beast let out a roar then — a soul-shattering keening roar that reverberated in their bones. The mist churned. Several of the natives stumbled, some falling to their knees.

"Up! UP!" Kedes grabbed a fallen child and hauled her into his arms. "MOVE!"

The elders moved to flank Raerin. Four of them, each bearing spears etched with deep grooves from a hundred battles.

The first of the elders was Valen, a tall, wiry man with earth-toned skin, who drove his spear into the ground. Stones erupted around him, forming jagged spikes.

"We’ll hold it back as long as we can," he rasped.

"Together," said Mira, another elder level figure flame crackling around her spearhead. The heat shimmered the air around her, reflecting the flickering light of the portal.

Raerin gave a sharp nod. "We only need some more time, and we all can escape from this damned place."