Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 503: A Hunch and A Fall ()

Neveah’s heart thudded uneasily within her chest, and Neveah had to bite down harshly on her lip to still her unease.

Neveah was not certain if it was the strange, unfamiliar disdain for flight she now had that stirred her unease,

Or the whooshing sounds and shrieks from far in the distance...or if it was the fact that she was currently riding no one else but the Dragon King.

’He is the one who is most inconvenienced by this arrangement, I should not make things worse.’ Neveah reminded herself as she held on tightly to maintain stability.

Neveah knew just what riding a dragon meant to the dragon kind, it held too much meaning to them to be offered out to just anyone, so casually.

Yet the urgency of the situation left them both with no choice... except of course, if the Dragon King had chosen to leave Neveah behind to her fate. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

King Jian had said it was okay, that she did not need to feel any guilt towards him for this, but that only made Neveah feel all the more guilty.

King Jian soon stabilized his flight at a high altitude and shot forwards without a moment’s delay, his wings cutting sharply through the air.

Neveah kept her gaze fixed ahead, even when the whooshing sounds grew louder, she did not dare spare a glance back.

King Jian’s speed was unmatched, but the whirlwind of shadows also moved at an incomparable speed.

Neveah could not tell if they could be fast enough to beat it and at the same time, she reminded herself that King Jian had asked for her trust, all she could do was give it.

Neveah’s attention was still fixed ahead when her gaze was drawn to something...a strange ripple in the air.

It looked akin to the beginnings of a portal, Neveah could swear she had just seen a strange magical sheen that rippled through space, making the terrain shift like it was some kind of veil.

It lay up ahead, but not in their way, far off to the hills that lay Eastward in the cursed lands and Neveah caught sight of it for just a moment, so swiftly she had to question if she had seen right.

Neveah squinted slightly, blinking once and then twice but there was nothing to be seen and King Jian’s flight was so fast, they soon were past it.

"Did you see that?" Neveah thought to King Jian, knowing he could hear her since they were in contact.

King Jian merely grunted in Neveah’s mind, but that was enough for Neveah to know he had not taken notice of what she had.

And while Neveah contemplated dismissing it as nothing, she could not ignore the nagging suspicion in her mind.

And while Neveah knew she was about to make the most unreasonable request and perhaps the worst decision of her life, she still went right ahead and said it.

"You have to go back." Neveah thought to King Jian urgently.

"Veah..." King Jian warned in Neveah’s mind.

"I just...there is something there, I have a hunch it is something important... trust me." Neveah thought to King Jian.

Neveah was not sure she would trust her ownself if she was the one in King Jian’s position.

King Jian did not respond for a moment and just when Neveah concluded he was going to ignore her,

King Jian sharply banked to the left, swerving till he now flew in the opposite direction, right at the whirlwind of shadows.

Now that they faced the onslaught of fiery winds and churning mass of shadows, Neveah realized with alarm that the tornado... whatever it was, it was twice the size it had been when she had first seen it.

"Death gale... that is what it used to be called." King Jian’s voice sounded in Neveah’s mind.

As though he could guess that Neveah still was at a loss on what to think of what came at them.

Death gale...it was a suiting name for truly, that tornado was a moving abyss of death.

"This...you have faced it many times before now, have you not?" Neveah thought to King Jian, her horrified gaze still fixed on the death gale.

"It was a spell especially created by the most powerful dark sorcerers, to impede the flight ability of dragons."

"It was a weapon forged for our doom...before the uprising... and during, many of my kin fell to this." King Jian thought back to Neveah, his ever calm tone faltering for just a moment.

It was the first time King Jian made reference to the early days of dragon kind, to the times when they were not the supreme power they were now known to be.

A time when they too were prey, at the mercy of the cruel dark sorcerers.

The death gale was still a good distance away, they had been making good time initially, but now, they flew straight for it, giving up their advantage all thanks to Neveah’s hunch.

"I... I did not realize... I should not have..." Neveah began to apologize but King Jian cut her off.

"Focus, we are here." King Jian reminded Neveah.

Neveah complied immediately, King Jian now flew alongside the path she had made mention of and Neveah stretched a hand out cautiously.

The moment Neveah’s hand was completely outstretched, her fingers met a slight hindrance, and a pulsing barrier revealed itself.

It was only for a moment before it disappeared again but that moment was more than enough to confirm Neveah’s suspicions.

Something was hidden here, concealed from sight and there was a strong scent of lavender on the air.

"It smells like lavender." Neveah thought to King Jian.

Neveah did not know what exactly it was or what it meant, but it was quite different for King Jian who growled dangerously low before he sharply made a turn.

Neveah had thought King Jian intended to head back for Dune City now that they had confirmed what Neveah had seen,

But instead King Jian put some distance between them and the barrier and then shot straight for it with a vengeance.

’Hold tight." King Jian warned as he slammed right into the barrier.

The barrier did not budge and the force of the collision sent them tumbling backwards through the sky.

King Jian easily steadied his flight and poised to slam into the barrier again.

"Your Grace, we have to go! It’s getting closer!" Neveah reminded King Jian urgently.

"Fort Blazed! Fort Blazed is the only Fort that houses a lavender groove!" King Jian thought back to Neveah with a hiss.

Neveah’s eyes widened in realization, had they just discovered where the missing fortress was hidden? Had Estelle’s home and all it’s people been hidden beyond the barrier?

Was that why they could not track it all this while no matter how hard they tried?

"We have to go! The barrier will keep the death gale away from Fort Blazed! We will rally an army if need be and return for Fort Blazed, we will return...so we have to go, now!" Neveah thought to King Jian.

A growl of frustration rumbled out of King Jian and he swerved, changing directions once again just as the death gale swallowed up the terrain behind them.

King Jian’s right wing was caught in a mass of shadow and he banked sharply to free himself.

But Neveah had not been prepared for that sudden move and she lost her balance, sliding off King Jian’s back.

Neveah scrambled to catch hold as she slid off and in her flurry, her hand caught onto a scale laying some distance below King Jian’s shoulder...but it was one she could not hold onto.

Because the very moment Neveah touched that scale, a shocking jolt exploded from the point of contact through Neveah’s entire body, sending a fiery surge through every vein and cell in her body.

Neveah let go in alarm and with no hand hold, she tumbled down to the ground far below.