Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 565: Go Alone ()

The surge of magic rushing through the portal left an unpleasant ring in Kaideon’s ears as he emerged from the jump portal.

Coran and Rodvan came next, but the more accurate description for Coran’s arrival was being ejected out of the portal.

Kaideon’s hand on Coran’s shoulder steadied him and prevented him from an unsteady landing.

Kaideon grunted beneath his breath, suppressing his discomfort at the pulsing of magic all about him, it took a moment for it to fade.

Kaideon knew it was barely more than a second but that much was enough to leave him feeling on edge.

Try as he might, Kaideon did not think he would ever be able to get used to magic...it was too much of a reminder, of that time far in the past.

Kaideon crouched down, taking a handful of greyish sand, he let the grains fly through his fingers, determining the direction of the wind.

When most of the grains had been carried away, Kaideon got up to his feet and wiped off the sand grains left on his hand, a frown settled on his face.

"How far in now?" Coran thought to Kaideon through their mind connection.

Being at a close distance, the three dragon lords could easily communicate with their minds as it would not require too much energy.

A feat that would prove much more difficult if they were to be separated in the course of their mission.

This was the third jump portal in the past half a day, and Kaideon could now see that navigating the dark lands unnoticed had gotten so much more difficult since he had last ventured out here.

The barren stretch of land was a blend between a desert and abandoned ruins, with dead forests far in the distance.

The last time Kaideon had been here, there were large ruins of the first temple left behind, but it was nowhere to be seen.

Like it had crumbled to dust, or had been moved someplace else. The large rocks that was in sight now had not been here before, not in these parts of the dark lands.

Kaideon had not thought a few decades were that long, but he had been terribly mistaken.

There was hardly anything in sight Kaideon still recognised. And the dark lands had gotten all the more... darker, if that was even possible.

The sun was still out now and so it was not visibly dark, but the heaviness of the dark aura in the air was much more than Kaideon remembered, so thick Kaideon could have sworn a blade would slice right through to reveal blackened innards.

’Like a festering wound... time has left it worse off than it ever was. The only thing that has not changed is the aura here... the aura of death and decay, it has only become worse.’ Kaideon thought to himself.

"We have only gone a short distance in. Everything has changed in such a short time, even the layout... without this map, I am not certain we could find our way." Rodvan thought to Kaideon, glancing down at the map.

King Jian had drawn out the directions as he recalled the terrain, and given King Jian’s abilities, even in the hurried manner of their return, he had taken note of the major landmarks...or those still left in place.

The barrier was vast and the route through which King Jian and Neveah had made their return was much different from that which Xenon chased the shadow beast through.

While Xenon had flown overhead the dead forests where the breach had happened, King Jian had returned over the vast barren land.

Every shelved map of the dark lands at this point was inaccurate, if the skies or portals were not an option, it would be easy to get lost and never find one’s way out.

Kaideon and his group stayed close to the edge of the forest, being out in the open would have them easily spotted, but they did not venture into the forest either, it would be teeming with shadow beasts that had taken cover from the sunlight.

"We need to make haste while the sun is up. Traveling at night will prove even harder." Kaideon thought to Rodvan and Coran.

The two dragons lord nodded in agreement and they quickly continued on their way, seeking out the next landmark from which to jump a portal.

It did not take all that long for the Dragon Lords to find the broken tree King Jian had indicated.

"From here, it is a jump to the edge of the sands. It is the last landmark. Not long after that, we will arrive the unidentified barrier" Rodvan supplied.

Kaideon nodded and pulled out the magical artifact that had been especially crafted to create short distant portals.

It was in the shape of a compass and as Kaideon opened the top, it exuded a magical glow and Kaideon stretched it out, summoning a portal.

The portal tore open in space, creating an entry just large enough for them to pass through.

Kaideon braced himself and crossed through once again, anticipating the whirl of magic that was to ensue.

It came swiftly and left soon, leaving them standing once again in the terrain of the dark lands.

But the terrain was different now, rather than a barren sand desert, it was a barren dry land, with cracked earth emitting random streams of steam.

The dry land stretched for as far as the eye could see.

"How much longer?" Kaideon asked Rodvan as he scanned their surrounding, measuring how much longer they had before it was sun down.

"We have been here for more than half a day, we should arrive the barrier by nightfall." Rodvan supplied.

Kaideon frowned slightly, a sense of unease churned within him and he could not tell what it was.

"You two, find a suitable shelter for the night, the shadow beasts will come prowling soon and we cannot engage... the death gale will return at the slightest sign of flight." Kaideon instructed.

"I will go on alone. It will be faster that way, and there will be no time to secure a shelter if we all go together. I will go alone...wait for my orders." Kaideon said firmly.