Path of the Unmentioned: The Missing Piece-Chapter 87: Race to the Hill [2]

Kyle’s fingers dug into Sylvie’s waist as they balanced on the narrow stone pillar.

His knuckles turned white from the effort of keeping them both steady.

Below their feet. The endless abyss seemed to breathe.

A yawning darkness that promised instant elimination if they fell.

The cold wind whipped at Kyle’s face, carrying with it the metallic scent of blood from his wounds.

Every muscle in Kyle’s body screamed in protest.

Across the chasm. Team 3 looked just as battered.

Lyra Silverwind’s usually perfect emerald ponytail was tangled and matted with dirt.

Sweat streaked down her face, cutting clean lines through the grime.

Her breathing came in ragged gasps as she struggled to nock another arrow. Her fingers trembling with exhaustion.

Beside her. Reo Dustbane leaned heavily on his spear. The cocky grin that usually played across his lips was gone. Replaced by a pained grimace.

His right arm hung limp at his side. The sleeve of his uniform torn and bloodied from their earlier battle.

Even Serena Blackthorne normally the picture of perfect composure. Showed signs of strain.

Her grip on the glaive wasn’t as steady as usual. The weapon trembling slightly in her hands, evidence of the toll their previous fight had taken.

"Give up already!" Lyra’s voice carried across the gap, hoarse and strained.

She drew back the bowstring with visible effort, her arms shaking. "You can’t win this!"

Kyle tightened his grip on Zalrielle.

The spirit weapon pulsed in response, its familiar weight both comforting and painful in his exhausted hands.

The black tachi felt heavier than usual. As if sensing its master’s depleted state.

Kyle muttered through gritted teeth. His throat was dry, his lips cracked from exertion.

The first arrow came faster than Kyle expected.

His body moved before his mind could fully process the danger.

[Glacial Spear]!

Jagged spears of frost shot forward with a sound like shattering glass. Intercepting most of Lyra’s arrows mid-flight.

The collision created a small explosion of frost and splintered wood that rained down into the abyss below.

But one arrow got through.

Orion barely had time to raise his warhammer in a feeble block before the wind-enhanced projectile punched through his chest.

The big man looked down in surprise at the shaft protruding from his uniform. His dark eyes met Kyle’s as his body began dissolving into white motes of light.

"Finish this, Kyle" his deep voice echoed as he disappeared completely.

Now it was just Kyle and Sylvie against three opponents.

Sylvie was petrified, her blue eyes locked on the endless drop below them. Her wand hung limp at her side, her fingers twitching but unable to form the proper grips for spells.

Her breathing came in short, panicked gasps that made her whole body tremble.

Kyle grabbed her shoulders with both hands, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"Sylvie! Look at me!" Her pupils were dilated with terror. The blue of her irises nearly swallowed by black.

He gave her a small shake. "We are getting out of here. Now."

Kyle’s mind raced as he assessed their options.

They couldn’t fight in this position. Pinned on a narrow pillar with no cover.

The gaps between pillars were too wide for normal jumps, especially carrying Sylvie.

His eyes darted to the far side where solid ground waited, then back to their pursuers.

He took a deep breath that made his ribs protest. Kyle focused all his remaining energy into his legs.

The mana channels in his calves burned as he forced power through them.

Ice crept up from his legs, forming platforms that stretched toward a distant pillar.

These weren’t bridges. Just temporary footholds, fragile and already cracking under their own weight.

[Lightning Steps]

Blue-white electricity crackled around his legs as he jumped holding Sylvie.

Using the ice as a springboard.

The fragile structure shattered immediately under the force, sending shards of ice tumbling into the void below.

But the burst of momentum was enough to propel them to the next pillar.

They landed hard. Kyle’s knees buckling slightly from the impact.

Sylvie gasped as she nearly slipped, but Kyle tightened his grip on her waist.

Lyra’s next volley came faster than expected.

Kyle barely had time to twist midair, turning his body to shield Sylvie.

An arrow grazed his shoulder. The razor-sharp tip slicing through cloth and skin.

Blood welled immediately, hot and sticky against his chilled skin.

"Kyle!" Sylvie cried out, her voice laced with panic.

"Let’s keep moving!" he growled through clenched teeth. The pain was white-hot, but he couldn’t afford to stop.

From her perch, Lyra wiped sweat from her brow with a trembling hand.

Her fingers slipped as she tried to nock another arrow. The projectile nearly falling from her grasp.

"Damn it... how is he still moving?" she panted, her chest heaving.

Reo winced. "We’re all running on empty here."

Serena adjusted her grip on her glaive. Her usually steady hands shaking slightly.

Her purple eyes tracked Kyle’s progress with something almost like respect.

"He’s using elemental synergy" she observed quietly. "Ice for platforms, lightning for propulsion at the same time. It’s... impressive."

Lyra scowled, her face twisting in frustration.

"It’s cheating! How is he even doing that?" She fired another arrow. But her exhaustion made the shot go wide.

The projectile disappearing into the abyss without coming close to its target.

Kyle’s vision swam with each jump.

Blood from his wounds made his grip on Sylvie slippery, forcing him to tighten his hold until his fingers ached.

Ice Platfrom...

[Lightning Steps]

Each spell came harder than the last.

His mana channels burned like fire. The pathways raw from overuse.

The ice platforms became smaller, less stable with each creation.

One shattered completely before he could push off, sending them tumbling toward the abyss.

Kyle’s stomach lurched as they fell, the wind screaming in his ears.

At the last second, his free hand shot out, fingers scrabbling against rough stone. He caught the edge of the next pillar with one hand.

Sylvie’s wrist clutched desperately in the other.

His shoulder screamed in protest as he pulled them both up. Muscles straining against their combined weight.

"Last Jump"

Gathering every last drop of his mana. Kyle formed one final ice platform.

The structure was barely more than a fragile disc. already cracking and splintering under its own weight before he even stepped onto it.

[Lightning Steps]

The jump was sloppy, uncontrolled.

Kyle’s legs buckled slightly on takeoff, sending them careening through the air at an awkward angle.

They crashed onto solid ground in a tangle of limbs, rolling several feet before coming to a stop in a cloud of dust and loose stones.

Kyle tasted blood. He’d bitten his tongue on impact.

His entire body felt like one giant bruise, every muscle screaming in protest as he tried to push himself up.

Beside him, Sylvie groaned, clutching her side where she’d landed.

Before they could catch their breath.

Lyra’s final arrow arced toward them, its wind-enhanced tip screaming through the air like a vengeful spirit.

Then, something remarkable happened.

"[Tidal Shield]!"

A wall of water erupted between them and the arrow.

The liquid barrier rippling as it absorbed the projectile’s momentum completely.

The arrow dissolved harmlessly into the water, which then collapsed into a harmless puddle.

Kyle turned his head slowly wincing at the pain in his neck, to see Sylvie rising to her feet.

Her posture was completely transformed. Back straight, shoulders squared, her grip on her wand firm and confident.

The trembling, fearful girl was gone.

In her place stood a battle mage, her blue eyes sharp and focused like a hawk’s. Her wand moved through the air with precise, practiced motions as she prepared another spell.

"You go," she said, her voice steady and clear despite the chaos around them.

"I’ll handle them."

Kyle hesitated, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "Sylvie, you don’t have to-"

"I said go!" she snapped, already forming another water spell.

The liquid twisted and coiled like a living thing, responding to her every subtle movement.

"Reach the hill. That’s what matters."

Across the chasm. Lyra fumbled with another arrow.

Reo and Serena were already moving, jumping toward the central hill, their steps unsteady but determined.

Kyle nodded, forcing himself up. Zalrielle felt heavy in his grip, but he turned toward the path.

Behind him, the clash of elements erupted as Sylvie faced Team 3 alone.

He didn’t look back.

He ran.

———